Retirement from professional sports can take a heavy toll on an athlete’s mental health—even for those who have achieved everything in the game. Steve Mandanda, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper with France in 2018, experienced this firsthand and has now shared the profound emptiness he felt after hanging up his gloves last year.
In his memoir titled *Les jours d’après* (The Days After), set to be released tomorrow (13), Mandanda describes the difficult months following his retirement. Excerpts were previewed by French newspaper *L’Équipe*.
The story begins in July 2025 when his contract with Rennes (FRA) ended. After 25 consecutive years dedicated to sport, the Frenchman struggled to fill his days without the routine of an athlete. The Olympique de Marseille and France national team icon admits he lost a sense of purpose in life.
He also found himself disoriented without the familiar anchors of football—the locker room, group life—and sought support from former teammates like Patrice Evra.
“A few weeks ago, almost nothing tastes good. It’s July, I’m alone, it’s hot, the window is half open, Rennes at the height of summer. I swing like a pendulum. My days are endless and empty. Empty of energy. Empty of meaning. (…) I’m unemployed, lying on my sofa, not even knowing what I’m waiting for, not knowing what I want. I don’t want anything.
I don’t like anything in my life right now. I think I’m unhappy. At least, lost. I have no references anymore. I no longer have my two goalposts, no game in front of me. No locker room, no armband, no glances, no words, no jokes, no teammates, our coffees, the conversations, the training camps, the flights, the specific drills, the video sessions, the halftime intervals, the precise passes.”
— Excerpts from *Les jours d’après*
A Happy Ending?
Mandanda says that over time, he has come to accept the end of his cycle and learned to cope better with what he calls “the days after.” The process involves “fully accepting that it’s over and facing the void that football leaves when it ends, without sinking because of it. It’s remembering the good things,” he writes.
The Frenchman announced his retirement in September 2025 at the age of 40. He is an idol at Olympique de Marseille, holding the record for most appearances for the club—613—over 14 years. He also played 35 times for the French national team and was part of the squad that won the World Cup in Russia.
