Nuno Alexandre Tavares Mendes (; born 19 June 2002) is a Portuguese 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

and the Portugal national team. He came through

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

's youth academy, making his first-team debut in 2020 and winning a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

and

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

the following season while being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year. In August 2021, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain on loan, joining the club permanently for €38 million in June 2022. In 2024–25, he was a prominent player as they attained a continental treble, including their first-ever

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

title. Mendes represented Portugal at various youth levels. He made his full debut in 2021, and was chosen in the squads for the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

(

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

). He won the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, being named the best player of

the finals ''The Finals'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players (who are divided into a number of distinct classes) ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...

Lisbon District Lisbon District () is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the current Setúbal District. ...

of Cape Verdean descent, Mendes started playing football aged 9, and his idols growing up were

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, David Alaba and

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

, the two last players being the ones he tried to emulate. He would be spotted by his school teacher Bruno Botelho, who invited him to play for local club Despertar on the outskirts of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. He quickly stood out, subsequently catching the eye of Benfica,

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and joining the latter's youth system at the age of 10. During his

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

process, as he returned home from school, Mendes realised he was being followed by a man. For fear of being robbed, he ran home, located in a very poor neighbourhood; the "stalker" was actually a Sporting scout, who later convinced him to sign. He spent the next four years making a two-hour round trip in order to train every night with his teacher, before moving to Sporting's academy at the age of 14. Mendes initially played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

before being converted to a

, a position he struggled with in the beginning.

Sporting CP

Following the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in February, which brought a premature end to the youth football season, Mendes was one of a small group of youth players to be called up to the first team by manager

Ruben Amorim Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim (; born 27 January 1985) is a Portuguese Professional association football, professional football Manager (association football), manager, a former player and the current manager of Premier League club Manchester Unit ...

, despite having only played once since November due to an injury. He made his professional debut in a 1–0

home win against Paços de Ferreira on 12 June 2020, as a 72nd-minute substitute for Marcos Acuña. After the latter left for

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

in the 2020 off-season, Mendes became first choice at only 18, becoming the youngest player to make the club's starting XI since Ronaldo in September 2002; he went onto start six of his side's seven remaining league matches. He scored his first competitive goal for them on 4 October of the same year, in the 2–0 away victory over Portimonense. Mendes agreed to a contract extension on 19 December 2020, increasing his

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

from €45 million to €70 million. He played 29 games for the eventual champions, while also being named in the Team of the Year. On 31 July 2021, Mendes provided an assist for Jovane Cabral in the 2–1 defeat of

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

Paris Saint-Germain

2021–23: First league titles and Ligue Young Player of the Year

On 31 August 2021, Mendes joined

on a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan with an option to buy. He made his

debut for the club on 11 September, coming on as a 85th-minute substitute in a 4–0 defeat of Clermont. He appeared in his first game in the

four days later, replacing Abdou Diallo 75 minutes into a 1–1 draw away to

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

; he had an instant impact on the pitch, notably making a "brilliant" run to set up a shooting opportunity for

at the 77th minute. He made his first start later that month, in a 2–1 win over

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He helped PSG to win their record-tying 10th national championship by making 27 appearances (18 starts), and later was nominated to the Young Player of the Year award and named to the Team of the Year alongside two of his teammates. NunoMendes22

On 31 May 2022, Mendes' buyout clause of €38 million was triggered and he signed a permanent four-year contract. He scored his first official goal on 3 September, closing a 3–0 away victory against

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. His first in the Champions League came on 2 November, the winner in a 2–1 victory away to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the last group fixture. During the season, he was a key contributor to his team's record 11th title, winning the Young Player of the Year and being included in the Team of the Year in the process.

2023–present: Injury issues and continental treble

Mendes had suffered from a hamstring injury since May 2023, and was successfully operated in October by surgeon Lasse Lempainen in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, Finland. He only made his return on 25 February 2024, playing 20 minutes of the 1–1 league home draw against

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

in place of Lucas Hernandez. He eventually helped his team to reach the Champions League semi-finals, where they were knocked out by

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

2–0 on aggregate; they also won the

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

with record-extending successes in

, the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

and the

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

, with the player only not taking part in the latter due to his injury. On 9 February 2025, Mendes agreed to an extension until 2029. Ten days later, in the second leg of the Champions League knockout phase play-offs, he scored PSG's fifth goal in the 7–0 win over fellow French Brest, helping his side to a 10–0 aggregate victory; he also found the net in both legs of the quarter-finals against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

(3–1 home victory, 3–2 away loss), achieving the continental treble by winning the Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and a first-ever Champions League after a 5–0 defeat of

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in the final, being named in the latter competition's Team of the Season.

International career

Mendes earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at under-21 level shortly after having made his club debut, in a 4–0 win in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers on 4 September 2020. Previously, he represented the nation's under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19s. Six months later, Mendes was called up to the senior team by manager Fernando Santos for

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

qualifying matches against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and subsequently removed from the under-21 squad due to appear in the finals. He first appeared with the former on 24 March 2021, playing the entire 1–0 victory against Azerbaijan. Mendes was selected for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

, playing no games in a round-of-16 exit. Santos later revealed that he had planned to use him alongside Raphaël Guerreiro during the tournament, but could not do so due to injury problems. In November 2022, Mendes was named in the final squad for the World Cup in Qatar. After a first-half thigh injury in the second group-stage match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, he missed the rest of the competition. During qualifying for Euro 2024, Mendes made one appearance against Luxembourg, assisting Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal of the 6–0 win in the ninth minute; he missed the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring injury, as Portugal won all ten matches in Group J. He was picked for the finals in Germany, starting against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in the group phase and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

(3–0 victory in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

) and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the knockout stage (5–3 loss in another shootout). Mendes was selected for the

2025 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the fourth season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men ...

. On 4 June, he assisted Ronaldo for the 2–1 winner in the semi-finals against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He scored his first international goal four days later in a 2–2 draw against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the final; he was crucial in defending Lamine Yamal throughout the match, and also converted his attempt in the 5–3 shootout win, being named player of the match and best player of the tournament.

Style of play

Mendes is known for his offensive capabilities, speed and technical qualities, playing mainly as a left-sided attacking full-back or wing-back, which allows him to create danger either from a standing start or whilst on the counter-attack. Apart from his dribbling, he boasts an excellent crossing ability whether tightly marked or open in space, and his physical prowess allows him to beat out opponents to the ball either with his speed or strength. He is also capable of anticipating attacks and cutting in front of a pass and winning the ball back. Despite his ability going forward, however, the defensive side of Mendes's game was brought into question by pundits early into his career, with the latter citing the inconsistency on his decision-making in front of goal, positioning and awareness as areas of weakness in need of improvement. Over the following years, however, under

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...

at Paris Saint-Germain, he became more tactically disciplined, displaying better judgment on when to push forward and when to hold his line. His one-on-one defending matured, commiting fewer rash challenges while displaying greater awareness of space and opponents’ movement. These developments were particularly evident in high-stakes matches, where his defensive performances against players such as Bukayo Saka,

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Liverpool F.C., L ...

and Yamal drew praise from pundits and coaches alike, marked his improvement into a more complete and balanced full-back.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2020–21 *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: 2024–25 Portugal *

: 2024–25 Individual *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2020–21 * IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2021, 2022 * Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2022–23 * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25 *UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2024–25 *

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

European Men's Team of the Season: 2024–25 *UEFA Nations League Finals Player of the Tournament:

References

External links

Paris Saint-Germain official profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Nuno 2002 births Living people Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Sintra Men's association football fullbacks Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers Ligue 1 players Paris Saint-Germain FC players UEFA Champions League–winning players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France