Ex-France goalkeeper Mandanda calls time on club career

Former France international goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, a World Cup winner in 2018, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old former Crystal Palace and Marseille player’s contract with Ligue 1 club Rennes expired last July.

“I needed to take my time to accept it, because it’s not easy, but yes, I’m stopping,” Mandanda, who was capped 35 times, told French sports daily L’Equipe.

“I had a long period of reflection because I had a lot of calls but I said no every time.”

Born in Kinshasa, Mandanda moved to France as a child, living with his family in Normandy, before starting his footballing career in Ligue 2 with Le Havre.

His breakthrough came in his first season with Marseille in 2007-2008.

He went on to spend 14 seasons in total with the southern French side winning six trophies including Ligue 1 in 2010 under Didier Deschamps who would go on to take over as France coach.

After earning his first French cap in May 2008 under Raymond Domenech, Mandanda established himself as a starter before losing out in 2009 to Hugo Lloris.

In 2016 he moved to England to play for Crystal Palace but failed to make an impact returning the following year to Marseille, where he played for five seasons before moving to Rennes.

He remained Lloris’ backup for many years, participating under Deschamps in the Euro 2016 final on home soil and the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, and was notably in the squad for the second world title won in 2018 in Russia. 

He announced the end of his international career in January 2023.