Ryan Mendes
Ryan Isaac Mendes da Graça is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a winger for TFF 1. Lig club Iğdır and the Cape Verde national team.
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 and Fatih Karagümrük.
Mendes made his senior international debut for Cape Verde in 2010, earning over 90 caps. He represented the nation at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
He is Cape Verde’s most capped player and top goalscorer.
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, 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. He was monitored by Leicester City scout Steve Walsh, who instead signed teammate Riyad Mahrez to the club.In the 2011–12 Ligue 2, Mendes was joint third top scorer with 13 goals.
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. 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.Mendes's opportunities at Lille were reduced after the dismissal of manager Rudi Garcia in 2013. On 4 September 2015, Mendes joined English side Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for the club twenty days later, opening a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town.
Later career
On 31 January 2017, Mendes signed for Kayserispor – ranked 17th in Turkey's Süper Lig – until the summer of 2020. In July 2018, he terminated his deal and moved to Sharjah FC of the UAE Pro League on a three-year deal. He won the league in his first season.Remaining in the United Arab Emirates, Mendes moved to Al-Nasr SC in Dubai on a two-year contract in July 2020. On 10 August 2023, he went back to Turkey's top division and signed a two-year contract with Fatih Karagümrük.
International career
Mendes was a member of the Cape Verde under-21 national team 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 2012 [Africa Cup of Nations qualification|qualification].
In 2013 Africa Cup of Nations 2013 Africa [Cup of Nations qualification|qualification], Mendes scored three goals in two wins over Madagascar. At the finals in South Africa, Cape Verde's first major tournament, he played all four games of a run to the quarter-finals.
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. He was called up for the finals in Equatorial Guinea, 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. A year later, he was called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and appeared in two of Cape Verde's matches at the tournament.
On 17 November 2023, he played his 62th international game in a 0–0 draw with Angola in qualification – CAF Group D|2026 World Cup qualification] game, tying Babanco’s record to become Cape Verde joint most capped player.
On 21 November 2023, in a 2–0 victory over Eswatini in a 2026 World Cup qualification game, he played his 63th international game, becoming Cape Verde sole most capped player and scored his 15th international goal and tied Héldon Ramos record to become Cape Verde joint top goalscorer.
In December 2023, Mendes was named in Cape Verde's squad for his fourth Africa Cup of Nations – the 2023 tournament in the Ivory Coast.
He captained the team in their opening two matches of the tournament on 14 and 19 January 2024 – wins against Ghana, and Mozambique – scoring and being named man of the match in the latter.
The goal against Mozambique was his 16th international goal and he thus became Cape Verde’s sole top goalscorer.
He later scored the only goal from a penalty in a 1–0 victory over Mauritania, which qualified his country to the quarter-finals.