Benjamin Mendy’s football life has been cut down to size. He once earned £500,000 a month at Manchester City, but now gets £10,000 a week at Pogon Szczecin, where the focus is much smaller and the minutes are shorter. Mendy joined City in 2017, officially left in 2023 before returning to France, and now lives in Szczecin after spells at Lorient and FC Zurich.
How far the reset goes
This is not just a wage cut, it is a complete change in footballing status. At City, he was part of a club that finished second in the Premier League on 78 points, scored 76 league goals and conceded 33. He is now at a club where, according to Michal Horbaczewski, he has hardly played since arriving and, when he does, it is only for 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
That is the clearest marker of how different this stage is. Horbaczewski also said Mendy is good at mentoring youth members of the academy and visits schools about twice a month. He added that people generally think of him positively, with Mendy often seen downtown and happy to take selfies with fans.
A quieter routine off the pitch
The local picture is very ordinary in the best sense. A café worker told express.co.uk that Mendy is always in the café, orders desserts such as hot chocolate cookies, often comes in with other team members, and regularly pays for everyone. "Everyone loves him here," the worker said, adding that he is friendly and happy to take photos.
That does not change the football reality. Mendy’s current spell is being described in one source framing as a 2025 move, while the wider account simply places him in Szczecin after his time at FC Zurich. What is clear is the day-to-day: lower wages, short appearances, school visits and a low profile in a city far removed from the scale of Manchester.
If this is a reset, it is a pretty stark one, and the next thing to watch is whether his role at Pogon Szczecin stays limited to cameos and academy work.
Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →