Illan Meslier: How Leeds United’s Iceman Lost His Cool

Artwork by @rpsketch

Illan Meslier: How Leeds United’s Iceman Lost His Cool 

When Illan Meslier first stepped into goal for Leeds United, I genuinely thought we’d found  someone special. He was only a teenager, but he played with a sense of calmness that can’t be  taught. He looked like the kind of keeper who’d be ours for the next decade. You could see why  people compared him to Courtois-tall, technically sound, and never seemed rattled. We called him  the Iceman, and back then, it actually fit. 

Fast forward to the end of the 2024–25 season, and I barely recognise the player anymore.  Confidence gone. Supporters turning. The manager dropped him for the run-in. It’s painful to watch someone with that much promise unravel this way-but if we’re being honest, it’s been coming for  a while. 

We Wanted to Believe 

Meslier had his breakthrough in the Premier League under Bielsa, and at first, it felt like he was the  real deal. He pulled off massive saves against City, Arsenal, you name it. He wasn’t perfect, but he was young, and we all gave him space to grow. 

But even during those early years, the warning signs were there. He didn’t command his box well, and some of his shot-stopping decisions were questionable. Still, the stats-like post-shot xG— started to pile up, showing he was conceding more than he should’ve been.
I brushed it off at the  time. Most of us did. We wanted to believe. 

Mistakes We Couldn’t Ignore 

This past Championship season was the tipping point. On paper, 14 clean sheets sounds great. But if  you actually watched the games week in, week out, you know how many of those were more about the team in front of him than anything Meslier did. 

Some moments genuinely made your stomach drop. That fluffed corner against Swansea. The soft goal that allowed Hull to claw back to 3–3. And the worst for me—Sunderland away. Ninety seventh minute. A hopeful cross, and it ends up in the net. That wasn’t just a mistake; it was a  collapse. You could see it on his face, and honestly, I felt for him. But you also knew… it couldn’t  keep going like this. 

Farke had no choice but to take him out. It wasn’t just a tactical change-it was a statement: we  can’t keep dropping points because of our goalkeeper. 

The Stats Don’t Lie (Even When We Wish They Did) 

At times, I wanted to defend him. “He’s still young,” “Give him time.” But you can only  ignore the numbers for so long. His save percentage dropped to near the bottom of the Championship pack. His handling was shaky. Kicking, inconsistent. And the worst part? He just looked… lost. 

Leeds fans started doing the math-how many points had we dropped because of one poor decision or misjudged cross? It added up. Eight points? Maybe more. In a promotion race, that’s the difference between staying where you are or going back to the promise land (again).

A Keeper Who Lost His Voice

What stings most isn’t just the goals-it’s what Meslier became on the pitch. He used to be a  presence. Now, he looks unsure of himself. Hesitant. Like every mistake was weighing on him. And  to be fair, they probably were. 

You can’t underestimate how hard it is to come back from a run like that, when teammates start  losing trust, when the crowd groans instead of cheers. Even Sam Allardyce said he dropped him  during that doomed Premier League survival attempt to save his confidence. Was that the beginning of the end? 

Time for a Change? 

We’ve been linked with everyone from Lucas  Perri (who we now know has joined the Whites) to Nick Pope during the summer transfer window. 

The rumours say we’d let Meslier go for £10 million. That’s a long way from the £30 million he  was supposedly worth a few years ago. 

We Wish It didn’t have to End This Way

Watching Meslier’s downfall has been one of the more painful subplots of the past few years at  Leeds. We watched him grow up here. We backed him. We wanted him to succeed-not just for us,  but for himself. But somewhere along the line, it stopped working. 

He’s still only 25. He’ll go elsewhere, and maybe he’ll rebuild his confidence, and become the keeper we all thought he’d be.

He was our Iceman once. But in the end, the pressure melted him.

Written by Lucy