Ryan Isaac Mendes da Graça (born 8 January 1990) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a winger for Al-Nasr and the Cape Verde national team.

Ryan Mendes

Mendes playing for Lille in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Ryan Isaac Mendes da Graça
Date of birth	(1990-01-08) 8 January 1990 (age 32)
Place of birth	Mindelo, Cape Verde
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Winger
Club information
Current team	Al-Nasr
Number	21
Youth career
	Batuque FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2012	Le Havre	84	(20)
2010	Le Havre II	1	(0)
2012–2017	Lille	54	(7)
2014–2016	Lille II	2	(1)
2015–2016	→ Nottingham Forest (loan)	35	(2)
2017–2018	Kayserispor	39	(5)
2018–2020	Sharjah	44	(20)
2020–	Al-Nasr	44	(10)
National team‡
2006	Cape Verde U16	9	(2)
2007	Cape Verde U21	8	(1)
2010–	Cape Verde	55	(12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:12, 16 June 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:10, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

He spent most of his club career in France with Le Havre and Lille, and in the UAE Pro League with Sharjah and Al-Nasr. He also had brief spells in England's Championship with Nottingham Forest, and the Turkish Süper Lig with Kayserispor.

Mendes made his senior international debut for Cape Verde in 2010, earning over 50 caps. He represented the nation at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, 2015 and 2021.

Club career

Le Havre

Born in Mindelo, São Vicente, Mendes began his career with hometown club Batuque FC. In 2008 he was sold to Le Havre AC,[2] with whom he played his first game in Ligue 1 on 13 May 2009 against AS Saint-Étienne, as a late substitute for Maxime Baca in a 4–2 home loss.[3][4] He was monitored by Leicester City scout Steve Walsh, who instead signed teammate Riyad Mahrez to the club.[5]

In the 2011–12 Ligue 2, Mendes was joint third top scorer with 13 goals.[6]

Lille

On 1 September 2012, Mendes returned to Ligue 1 on a four-year deal at Lille. He joined for a €3 million fee – the club was in a good financial place after the sale of Eden Hazard to Chelsea – and his monthly salary rose from €7,000 to €120,000.[7] He missed the second half of his first season after having surgery on a right ankle tendon and remained on the sidelines until December 2013. He told the league's website that he was not going to retire despite the injuries.[8]

On 4 September 2015, Mendes joined English side Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan.[9] He scored his first goal for the club twenty days later, opening a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town.[10]

Later career

On 31 January 2017, Mendes signed for Kayserispor – ranked 17th in Turkey's Süper Lig – until the summer of 2020.[11] In July 2018, he terminated his deal and moved to Sharjah FC of the UAE Pro League on a three-year deal.[12] He won the league in his first season.[13][14]

Remaining in the United Arab Emirates, Mendes moved to Al-Nasr SC in Dubai on a two-year contract.[15]

International career

Mendes was a member of the Cape Verde under-21 national team[16] and played formerly with the under-16s an international tournament in Gonfreville-L'Orcher.

He made his debut for the senior team on 11 August 2010, as a 58th-minute substitute for Babanco in a 1–0 friendly loss away to Senegal. His first international goal was scored on 8 October 2011, in a 2–1 loss at Zimbabwe in 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[17]

In 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Mendes scored three goals in two wins over Madagascar.[18][19] At the finals in South Africa, Cape Verde's first major tournament, he played all four games of a run to the quarter-finals.[20][21][22][23]

Mendes scored the decider on 10 September 2014 as Cape Verde won 2–1 against Zambia in Praia, in 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[24] He was called up for the finals in Equatorial Guinea,[25] playing in all three draws of a group-stage elimination.

In November 2020, he reached 50 international caps, for which he was rewarded with a shirt and plaque the following March.[26] A year later, he was called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 18 May 2018[28]

International

Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mendes goal.

List of international goals scored by Ryan Mendes[29]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 October 2011	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde	Zimbabwe	2–0	2–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2	29 February 2012	Stade Municipal de Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar	Madagascar	1–0	4–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3	16 June 2012	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde		1–0	3–1	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4				3–0
5	10 September 2014	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde	Zambia	2–1	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6	6 September 2015	Petro Sport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt	Libya	2–1	2–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7	1 June 2018	July 5, 1962 Stadium, Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	2–2	3–2	Friendly
8	18 November 2019	Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde	Mozambique	2–1	2–2	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
9	7 October 2020	Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Andorra	1–0	2–1	Friendly
10				2–1
11	26 March 2021	Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde	Cameroon	3–1	3–1	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
12	10 October 2021	Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena, Mindelo, Cape Verde	Liberia	1–0	1–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Sharjah

• UAE Pro League: 2018–19[14]

References

External links

• Ryan Mendes at Soccerway

На других языках

[de] Ryan Mendes

[es] Ryan Mendes da Graca

[fr] Ryan Mendes

[it] Ryan Mendes

[ru] Мендеш, Райан