Ryan Mendes

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. 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 qualification.

In 2013 Africa Cup of Nations 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 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 (2–1), and Mozambique (3–0) – 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.

Career statistics

Club

!colspan="2"|League cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Goals!!Apps |- |2008–09 |Ligue 1 |1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 |- |2009–10 |Ligue 2 |14||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||15||0 |- |2010–11 |Ligue 2 |32||4||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||34||4 |- |2011–12 |Ligue 2 |34||13||3||1||2||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||39||16 |- |2012–13 |Ligue 2 |3||2||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||3||2 |- !colspan="2"|Total !84!!19!!3!!1!!5!!2!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!92!!22 |- |Le Havre II |2010–11 |CFA |1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 |- |2012–13 |Ligue 1 |9||2||0||0||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||12||2 |- |2013–14 |Ligue 1 |16||3||3||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||19||3 |- |2014–15 |Ligue 1 |19||2||0||0||2||0||10||1||colspan="2"|—||31||3 |- |2015–16 |Ligue 1 |3||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||3||0 |- |2016–17 |Ligue 1 |7||0||0||0||0||0||2||1||colspan="2"|—||9||1 |- !colspan="2"|Total !54!!7!!3!!0!!2!!0!!15!!2!!colspan="2"|—!!74!!9 |- |2013–14 |CFA |1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 |- |2016–17 |CFA |1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !2!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!2!!0 |- |Nottingham Forest (loan) |2015–16 |Championship |32||2||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||32||2 |- |2016–17 |Süper Lig |6||1||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||7||1 |- |2017–18 |Süper Lig |33||4||6||3||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||39||7 |- !colspan="2"|Total !39!!5!!7!!3!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!46!!8 |- |2018–19 |UAE Pro League |26||9||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||26||9 |- |2019–20 |UAE Pro League |18||11||0||0||3||1||2||1||1||0||24||13 |- !colspan="2"|Total !44!!20!!0!!0!!3!!1!!2!!1!!1!!0!!50!!22 |- |2020–21 |UAE Pro League |22||6||0||0||5||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||27||7 |- |2021–22 |UAE Pro League |22||4||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||25||4 |- |2022–23 |UAE Pro League |24||5||0||0||4||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||28||6 |- !colspan="2"|Total !68!!15!!0!!0!!12!!2!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!80!!17 |- |Fatih Karagümrük |2023–24 |Süper Lig |23||4||3||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||26||6 |- |2024–25 |TFF First League |35||12||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||36||12 |- |2025–26 |Süper Lig |4||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|-||4||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !39!!12!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|–!!40!!12 |- |Iğdır F.K. |2025–26 |TFF First League |15||2||3||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||2 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !396!!87!!20!!6!!22!!5!!17!!3!!1!!0!!456!!101 |}

International

|- | |Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde | |2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar | |2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |

| |Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde | |2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt | |2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria | |Friendly | |- | |Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde | |2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |

| |Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde | |2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena, Mindelo, Cape Verde | |2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |- | |Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain | |Friendly | |- | |Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa | |2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa | |2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | |- | |Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | |2023 Africa Cup of Nations | |- | |Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | |2023 Africa Cup of Nations | |- | |Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | |2024 FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia A |

| |Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde | |2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |- | |Ramaz Shengelia Stadium, Kutaisi, Georgia | |Friendly | |}

Honours

Sharjah

• UAE Pro League: 2018–19

Kocaelispor

• 2024–25 TFF First League

References

References

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