3 hours ago 4

🚨Breaking news: Steve Mandanda announces his retirement

An exceptional story comes to an end. Out of contract since leaving Rennes, Steve Mandanda, 40, officially announced the end of his career this Wednesday.

The player with the most appearances in Marseille’s history (613 matches) and a World Cup champion in 2018 (35 international caps) announced his decision to L'Équipe. “I needed time to accept it, because it’s not easy, but yes, I’m leaving. (...) I thought about it a lot because I received many calls, but I said no every time,” the French goalkeeper explained to the sports outlet.

Trained at Le Havre, Steve Mandanda signed with Marseille in 2007 and quickly became the undisputed starter. An iconic figure of the club and Ligue 1, he was part of the team that won the French championship in 2010 and the last Marseille side to make it past the Champions League group stage.

After a difficult spell at Crystal Palace (2016-17), he returned to Marseille, where he played in a Europa League final in 2018, before winning the World Cup with France as the second goalkeeper for the Bleus.

Held back by Pau López, Steve Mandanda left Marseille in the summer of 2022 and joined Rennes, which he left this summer at the end of his contract. He also received a great tribute at the Vélodrome in what would be his last match as a professional.

Spectacular between the posts, Steve Mandanda is one of the most outstanding French goalkeepers of the 21st century and was named Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper five times (2008, 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2018).

His honors: Ligue 1 (1), League Cup (3), French Super Cup (2), World Cup (1), Ligue 1 best goalkeeper (5).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.