Ryan Mendes

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Mendes and the second or paternal family name is da Graça.
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 34)
Place of birth Mindelo, Cape Verde
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Kocaelispor
Number 20
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)
2020–2023 Al Nasr 68 (15)
2023–2024 Fatih Karagümrük 23 (4)
2024– Kocaelispor 2 (2)
International career‡
2006 Cape Verde U16 9 (2)
2007 Cape Verde U21 8 (1)
2010– Cape Verde 84 (21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 August 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:15, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Ryan Isaac Mendes da Graça (born 8 January 1990) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a winger for TFF First League club Kocaelispor 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 80 caps. He represented the nation at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.

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]

Mendes's opportunities at Lille were reduced after the dismissal of manager Rudi Garcia in 2013.[9] On 4 September 2015, Mendes joined English side Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan.[10] He scored his first goal for the club twenty days later, opening a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town.[11]

Later career

On 31 January 2017, Mendes signed for Kayserispor – ranked 17th in Turkey's Süper Lig – until the summer of 2020.[12] In July 2018, he terminated his deal and moved to Sharjah FC of the UAE Pro League on a three-year deal.[13] He won the league in his first season.[9][14]

Remaining in the United Arab Emirates, Mendes moved to Al-Nasr SC in Dubai on a two-year contract in July 2020.[15] On 10 August 2023, he went back to Turkey's top division and signed a two-year contract with Fatih Karagümrük.[16]

International career

Mendes was a member of the Cape Verde under-21 national team[17] 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.[18]

In 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Mendes scored three goals in two wins over Madagascar.[19][20] At the finals in South Africa, Cape Verde's first major tournament, he played all four games of a run to the quarter-finals.[21][22][23][24]

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.[25] He was called up for the finals in Equatorial Guinea,[26] 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.[27] A year later, he was called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon[28] and appeared in two of Cape Verde's matches at the tournament.[29]

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.[30] He captained the team in their opening two matches of the tournament – wins against Ghana (2–1), and Mozambique (3–0) – scoring and being named man of the match in the latter.[31] He later scored the only goal from a penalty in a 1–0 victory over Mauritania, which qualified his country to the quarter-finals.[32] date=20 June 2024

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 24 November 2024[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Goals Apps
Le Havre 2008-09 Ligue 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2009-10 Ligue 2 14 0 0 0 1 0 — — 15 0
2010-11 Ligue 2 32 4 0 0 2 0 — — 34 4
2011-12 Ligue 2 34 13 3 1 2 2 — — 39 16
2012-13 Ligue 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 — — 3 2
Total 84 19 3 1 5 2 — — 92 22
Le Havre II 2010-11 CFA 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Lille 2012-13 Ligue 1 9 2 0 0 0 0 3[c] 0 — 12 2
2013-14 Ligue 1 16 3 3 0 0 0 — — 19 3
2014-15 Ligue 1 19 2 0 0 2 0 10[d] 1 — 31 3
2015-16 Ligue 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 0
2016-17 Ligue 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 2[e] 1 — 9 1
Total 54 7 3 0 2 0 15 2 — 74 9
Lille II 2013-14 CFA 1 0 — — — — 1 0
2016-17 CFA 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Total 2 0 — — — — 2 0
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2015-16 Championship 32 2 0 0 0 0 — — 32 2
Kayserispor 2016-17 Süper Lig 6 1 1 0 — — — 7 1
2017-18 Süper Lig 33 4 6 3 — — — 39 7
Total 39 5 7 3 — — — 46 8
Sharjah 2018-19 UAE Pro League 26 9 0 0 0 0 — — 26 9
2019-20 UAE Pro League 18 11 0 0 3 1 2[f] 1 1[g] 0 24 13
Total 44 20 0 0 3 1 2 1 1 0 50 22
Al-Nasr 2020-21 UAE Pro League 22 6 0 0 5 1 — — 27 7
2021-22 UAE Pro League 22 4 0 0 3 0 — — 25 4
2022-23 UAE Pro League 24 5 0 0 4 1 — — 28 6
Total 68 15 0 0 12 2 — — 80 17
Fatih Karagümrük 2023-24 Süper Lig 23 4 3 2 — — — 26 6
Kocaelispor 2024-25 TFF First League 13 5 0 0 — — — 13 5
Career total 360 78 16 6 22 5 17 3 1 0 416 92
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, Turkish Cup, UAE President's Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup, UAE League Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Four appearances, one goal in UEFA Champions League, Six appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Leauge
  6. ^ Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  7. ^ Appearance(s) in UAE Super Cup

International

As of match played 15 November 2024[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cape Verde 2010 3 0
2011 4 1
2012 4 3
2013 6 0
2014 3 1
2015 8 1
2016 4 0
2017 5 0
2018 3 1
2019 4 1
2020 4 2
2021 7 2
2022 6 1
2023 8 2
2024 15 6
Total 84 21


Scores and results list Cape Verde's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mendes goal.
List of international goals scored by Kennedy Musonda
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 8 October 2011 Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde  Zimbabwe 2–0 2–1 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [35]
2 29 February 2012 Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar  Madagascar 1–0 4–0 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [36]
3 16 June 2012 Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde  Madagascar 1–0 3–1 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [37]
4 3–0
5 10 September 2014 Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde  Zambia 2–1 2–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [38]
6 6 September 2015 Petrosport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt  Libya 2–1 2–1 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [39]
7 1 June 2018 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Algeria 2–2 3–2 Friendly [40]
8 18 November 2019 Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde  Mozambique 2–1 2–2 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [41]
9 7 October 2020 Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra  Andorra 1–0 2–1 Friendly [42]
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 [43]
12 10 October 2021 Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena, Mindelo, Cape Verde  Liberia 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [44]
13 23 September 2022 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Bahrain 2–0 2–1 Friendly [45]
14 28 March 2023 Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa  Eswatini 1–0 1–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [46]
15 21 November 2023 Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa  Eswatini 1–0 2–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification [47]
16 19 January 2024 Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Mozambique 2–0 3–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [48]
17 29 January 2024 Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Mauritania 1–0 1–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [49]
18 21 March 2024 Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  Guyana 1–0 1–0 Friendly [50]
19 10 September 2024 Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde  Mauritania 1–0 2–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [51]
20 2–0
21 15 November 2024 Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde  Egypt 1–1 1–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification [52]

Honours

Sharjah

References

  1. ^ Ryan Mendes at L'Équipe Football (in French)
  2. ^ "Actualité à la une en Normandie, toutes les informations locales". www.paris-normandie.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Ryan Mendes Da Graca" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Résultat et résumé Le Havre - Saint-Étienne, Ligue 1, 35e journée, Mercredi 13 Mai 2009". L'Équipe (in French). 13 May 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez not target of original scouting mission says head of recruitment". Leicester Mercury. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Ligue 2. Fauré double Ghilas sur le fil pour le titre de meilleur buteur". Ouest-France (in French). 18 May 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Losc: Salaire, indemnité, les chiffres du transfert de Ryan Mendes !" (in French). Sportune. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  8. ^ Mondal, Subhankar (20 November 2013). "Lille's Ryan Mendes dismisses retirement talks". Sports Mole. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b Lomas, Mark (24 April 2019). "Cape Verde's Ryan Mendes aiming for unlikely UAE title". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "Nelson Oliveira and Ryan Mendes join Nottingham Forest on loan". BBC Sport. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  11. ^ Smee, Gary (24 September 2015). "Huddersfield 1–1 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  12. ^ Martins, Sébastien (31 January 2017). "OFFICIEL : Ryan Mendes quitte Lille" (in French). Goal. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Ryan Mendes leaves Kayserispor for UAE club". Turkish Football News. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Sharjah crowned champions; Dibba and Emirates relegated". Gulf Today. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Futebol: Ryan Mendes troca o Al Sharjah pelo AL Nasr [sic]". A Nação (in Portuguese). 8 July 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Fatih Karagümrük'ten sol kanat transferi". ntvspor.net (in Turkish). 10 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  17. ^ Criolosports (15 May 2009). "Criolosports.com: Ryan Mendes estreia-se no Le Havre". Criolosports.com. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  18. ^ Ryan Mendes at National-Football-Teams.com
  19. ^ "CAN 2013: Le Cap Vert domine Madagascar" (in French). 29 February 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  20. ^ "CAN 2013 : Le Cap Vert écarte Madagascar" (in French). Afrik Foot. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  21. ^ Fottrell, Stephen (19 January 2013). "South Africa 0–0 Cape Verde". Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  22. ^ Fottrell, Stephen (23 January 2013). "Morocco 1–1 Cape Verde Islands". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  23. ^ Fottrell, Stephen (27 January 2013). "Cape Verde 2–1 Angola". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  24. ^ Hughes, Ian (2 February 2013). "Ghana 2–0 Cape Verde". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  25. ^ "CAN: Zé Luís e Ryan Mendes dão triunfo a Cabo Verde". Record (in Portuguese). 10 September 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Cardoso da Silva: "Convocatória é correcta para Cabo Verde alcançar um bom resultado"" (in Portuguese). Radio France International. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  27. ^ Furtado, António (25 March 2021). "Ryan Mendes: 50 jogos pela seleção nacional de futebol" (in Portuguese). Gaft Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Afcon 2021: Ethiopia and Cape Verde squads for finals in Cameroon". BBC Sport. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  29. ^ "RYAN MENDES". ESPN. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Cape Verde name veterans Mendes, Vozinha in African Cup of Nations squad". Reuters. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  31. ^ ""We have achieved our first target" - Ryan Mendes after qualification". CAF Online. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Cape Verde 1–0 Mauritania". BBC Sport. 29 January 2024.
  33. ^ Ryan Mendes at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  34. ^ "Ryan Mendes". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Zimbabwe". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  36. ^ "Madagascar vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Madagascar". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  38. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Zambia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  39. ^ "Libya vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  40. ^ "Algeria vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  41. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Mozambique". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  42. ^ "Andorra vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  43. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Cameroon". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  44. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Liberia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  45. ^ "Bahrain vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  46. ^ "Eswatini vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  47. ^ "Eswatini vs. Cape Verde". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  48. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Mozambique". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  49. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Mauritania". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  50. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Guyana". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  51. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Mauritania". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  52. ^ "Cape Verde vs. Egypt". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 November 2024.