Ryan Mendes #20

Profile

The Greatest Of All Time, Ryan Mendes is synonymous with the Blue Sharks. He is the nation’s captain, top scorer, most capped player and at the World Cup could become the first centurion in Cape Verdean history. The right winger was an explosive talent, moving to the famous Le Havre academy where he came through alongside Paul Pogba, Benjamin Mendy and later, Riyad Mahrez. It was actually Mendes who Leicester were looking at when chief scout Steve Walsh visited le Havre in 2012. A member of Le Havre’s official supporters group told the BBC: “Ryan Mendes for sure was the better player. We expected him to reach a higher level than Riyad. Ryan was a fantastic player but he got a bad injury.” That ankle injury set back Mendes’ career at club level, but the 36-year-old has never let down his country and will captain the nation to their first World Cup.

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