After making his City debut in the FA Community Shield match against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in 2016, when he was introduced as a substitute, Mendy’s Premier League bow came against Arsenal later that August.
He also featured in the Foxes’ UEFA Champions League campaign, away at FC Porto, but after suffering an ankle injury, was limited to just eight appearances in all competitions in 2016/17. Since then, he's featured in the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. He also made two outings during the Club's run to winning the Emirates FA Cup in 2021.
After injuries dented his early progress at Leicester City, the Frenchman re-joined Nice on a season-long loan in August 2017, making 18 appearances for the French club, including in the Europa League. Returning to Leicester in the summer of 2018, Mendy quickly becoming a regular in Claude Puel's starting line-up, playing 31 times in the Premier League that season.
He featured in memorable home victories over both Manchester City and Arsenal, helping City to a respectable ninth placed finish in the top flight under new manager Brendan Rodgers. 2021 was a year which included an international debut for Senegal and, in February 2022, after several impressive individual performances, he was a part of the side which lifted a maiden CAF Africa Cup of Nations title. The Lions of Teranga defeated Egypt in the final.
Initially not selected in City's Premier League squad at the start of 2021/22, that international success led to his reintroduction for the second half of the season, adding another 11 appearances to his tally for the Club.
Mendy was born near Toulon in the south of France, but is of Senegalese descent. After playing youth football, he spent two years at Sporting Club Toulon in the French third tier before joining AS Monaco’s youth academy in 2007.
Mendy’s senior career started with Monaco, where he signed a three-year contract in April 2010, but his side was relegated from the top flight at the end of his first season. Two seasons later, he played a key role as Claudio Ranieri's resurgent Monaco side gained promotion back to Ligue 1, before Mendy moved to Nice as a free agent that summer.
Such early promise and poise earned him international recognition and, by the time he left Monaco, Papy had represented France at Under-17s, Under-18s, Under-19s, Under-20s and Under-21s levels.
At Nice, managed by Claude Puel who, like Ranieri, would later be his manager at Leicester, he helped guide the club to an impressive fourth-placed finish in 2015/16, playing in every game and securing Europa League qualification. Across his three seasons at Nice, Mendy appeared over 200 times and captained the side, with his passing statistics amongst the best in French football.