Steve Mandanda confided in Le Parisien In an interview published this Monday, the former goalkeeper for Marseille, Rennes, and the French national team reflects on the weeks following his retirement in the summer of 2025. The newspaper presents this account as the story of a period marked by doubts, losses, and the emptiness felt after twenty years at the highest level. His book, The days afterIt is due to be published on May 13th by Flammarion.
The sofa, the TV, days without a goal
In his book, Mandanda describes a period when his daily life no longer resembled that of a professional footballer. He says he's spent less time on his sofa since then, but acknowledges that the weeks following the suspension were difficult. He speaks of sadness, anger, missing football, the lack of purpose, and days that felt meaningless. His key sentence: "My days had no purpose."
A retirement officially announced on September 10, 2025
As a reminder, Steve Mandanda officially announced the end of his professional career on September 10, 2025, at the age of 40. The former French international goalkeeper earned 35 caps. He began his professional career at Le Havre before joining Olympique de Marseille in 2007. At OM, he made 613 appearances for the club, a record for Marseille.
A record built between OM and Les Bleus
With the French national team, Mandanda participated in the 2018 World Cup won by Les Bleus, and also reached the final of Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup. His achievements include the 2018 World Cup, the 2010 French Championship with OM, the League Cups in 2010, 2011 and 2012, as well as the Champions Trophies in 2010 and 2011.
Rennes, the player's final stop
Mandanda ended his career at Stade Rennais, where he arrived in 2022. In January 2024, the club announced his contract extension until June 2025.
On December 3, 2024, he played his 550th Ligue 1 match with Rennes, making him the eighth most capped player in the history of the championship.
Writing as a logbook
The book The days after This is a memoir written after his retirement. Mandanda reflects on his routines, the demands placed upon him, the sport he continues to play, his emerging projects, and also his memories with the French national team and Olympique de Marseille. The former goalkeeper shares his doubts, his feelings of uselessness, his anxiety, and the projects that have allowed him to relaunch his career.
Depression among former elite players is quite common. Many footballers, conditioned from a very young age to play football every day, are suddenly confronted with a void when they end their careers. A void that can be difficult to cope with. Some manage it, others much less so…
