Houboulang Mendes (born 4 May 1998) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

. Mainly a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he can also play as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Born in France, he plays for the Guinea-Bissau national team.

Club career

Mendes joined

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

' youth setup at the age of 15, after playing for Juvisy-sur-Orge AF and ES Viry-Châtillon. After playing for the reserve team, he made his first team debut on 19 May 2017, coming on as a late substitute for Malik Couturier in a 2–1

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

home loss against

Nîmes Olympique Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, t ...

, as his side was already relegated. A regular starter in the 2017–18 Championnat National, Mendes left Laval on 24 July 2018, and signed a four-year deal with

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French ...

in the second division. He was regularly used until February 2019, when he suffered a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury. Mendes returned to action in October 2019, playing for the B-side before making three first team appearances as Lorient achieved promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

. He made his debut in the category on 23 August 2020, starting in a 3–1 home win over

RC Strasbourg Alsace Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

. On 6 July 2022, Mendes moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a four-year contract with

side

International career

Born in

Courcouronnes Courcouronnes () is a former commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Évry-Courcouronnes. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, created ...

, France, Mendes is of Senegalese and Bissau-Guinean descent. He was called up to the Guinea-Bissau national team for a set of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches in September 2023.

References

External links

* Living people 1998 births People from Évry, Essonne Footballers from Essonne Men's association football defenders Bissau-Guinean men's footballers Guinea-Bissau men's international footballers French men's footballers Bissau-Guinean people of Senegalese descent French sportspeople of Bissau-Guinean descent French sportspeople of Senegalese descent Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Stade Lavallois players FC Lorient players UD Almería players Bissau-Guinean expatriate men's footballers Bissau-Guinean expatriates in Spain French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain {{France-footy-defender-1990s-stub