Signed from Monaco for a reported world-record fee in the summer of 2017, Benjamin Mendy has only recently broken into double-figures in terms of Premier League appearances. The unfortunate victim of some horrendous injury luck, Pep Guardiola has grown weary of how the Frenchman is spending all his available down time.
Looking worthy of the extravagant fee his purchase required both at the start of this and last season, Mendy has yet to put a sustained number of appearances together in a City shirt.
Rarely seen on the field, the Frenchman's prolific approach to social media has ensured that few paying heed to the Premier League have had chance to forget him.
Although it has long been suspected that Guardiola (akin to Jose Mourinho across the city) looks unfavourably upon such behaviour, serious cracks in the relationship between the City boss and Mendy have reportedly appeared this week.
According to Goal, Mendy spent the last week out of immediate contact with his teammates at the club.
During the past week it was reported that Mendy, after travelling to London on Saturday night to watch Anthony Joshua defeat Alexander Povetkin in Wembley Stadium, turned up three hours late to a rehabilitation session at Manchester City.
Infuriated by his apparent disregard for his own development, Guardiola is reported to have sent Mendy back out the way he came when he finally did emerge last Sunday.
Furthermore, the Frenchman was banned from City's first-team set up for a week.
Described a source of worry at City "all the way to the top of the club," it has also been reported that much is being made of the company Mendy keeps; with many suspecting that he may yet find himself in "serious trouble."
Although no specification to what kind of trouble this is has been forthcoming, it is clear that the French full back, for all of his undoubted potential, may not last at the club much longer if changes to his approach are not made.
[Goal]
