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Footballer Benjamin Mendy spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Benjamin Mendy, the French international and Manchester City defender, was recently spotted wearing one of the most talked-about wristwatches in contemporary horology: the Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 5711/1A-011, fitted with its distinctive white dial. In an era when footballers gravitate toward Richard Mille or diamond-set Rolexes, Mendy's choice of a clean, integrated-bracelet sports watch signals a more considered approach to collecting.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-011 sits at the pinnacle of the integrated-bracelet sports watch category. Powered by the in-house Calibre 324 S C — a self-winding movement with a 45-hour power reserve, running at 28,800 vph and decorated to Patek's exacting finishing standards — the 40mm stainless steel case carries the unmistakable horizontally embossed dial and porthole-style case architecture that Gerald Genta sketched on a napkin in 1976. The white dial variant replaced the more common blue-dial 5711/1A-010 as an alternative expression within the reference family, and its relative scarcity made it immediately desirable among serious collectors.

The 5711 family was discontinued by Patek Philippe in January 2021, a decision that sent secondary market prices into the stratosphere virtually overnight. The white-dial 5711/1A-011 had already been commanding significant premiums before discontinuation; post-announcement, it became near-impossible to acquire through any conventional channel. Collectors regard the 5711 as a generational benchmark — the kind of watch that defines an era in the same way the original ref. 3700 did in the 1970s.

Mendy joined Manchester City in 2017 from AS Monaco for a then-record fee for a defender, and his profile on and off the pitch has kept him firmly in the public eye. Like many elite Premier League players, his taste in watches reflects both the financial means and the cultural currency that top-flight football now commands globally.

At UK list price the Nautilus 5711/1A-011 was retailed at approximately £18,030, translating to roughly $22,500 USD. On today's grey market, however, examples in unworn condition regularly change hands between $120,000 and $150,000 USD — making it one of the most extreme retail-to-secondary-market premiums in watchmaking. Mendy's wrist is, in short, carrying the equivalent of a small car in horological blue-chip equity.