A full-back in a class of his own

At the age of 24, Nuno Mendes has established himself as one of the best and most feared full-backs in the world. Strong in one-on-one duels, solid defensively and possessing impressive pace, he also poses a threat in attack with his ability to carry the ball and create chances.

He has already won 15 trophies with PSG and hopes to add even more to that collection in the coming years. On a personal level, his list of achievements continues to grow. His two consecutive nominations for the Ballon d’Or are further proof of a career that continues to go from strength to strength.

The origins of a star

Mendes was born in the Portuguese town of Sintra and began his career in the youth ranks at Sporting CP. At the club, he quickly moved from playing as an attacking midfielder to left-back, a position in which he soon excelled.

He made his debut for Sporting’s first team in 2020 and, at the age of 18, became the youngest player to start for the club since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2002 – who just so happens to be one of his greatest childhood idols.

His spell with the first team was a huge success. In just one season, he won the Primeira Liga, the Taça da Liga and the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup in 2021. In the Super Cup final, he provided the assist for Jovane Cabral’s goal against Braga, which secured the title for Sporting.

Also in 2021, he received his first nomination for the Young Male Player of the Season award.

His breakthrough at PSG

In the second half of that year, Mendes was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain for a season, with an option to buy at the end of the contract.

Throughout his first year in Paris, he put in a string of impressive defensive performances, helping PSG win their tenth French League title. The Portuguese player was also nominated for the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, made the Team of the Season and, for the second year running, was nominated for the Young Male Talent of the Season award.

Unsurprisingly, PSG exercised their purchase option and signed him on a permanent basis.

It was a decision that paid off handsomely.

Over the course of his five seasons at the club, Mendes has established himself as one of the best full-backs in the world and has become a key figure in PSG’s run of titles in recent years.

In 2025, he received his first nomination for the ‘Ballon d'Or’ and finished tenth in the awards.

To date, Mendes has won 14 titles with PSG, including five consecutive Ligue 1 titles and the club’s first-ever Champions League title in 2025 – followed by a second in 2026.

Over the course of last season, the full-back also became the youngest Portuguese player in history to reach 50 Champions League appearances, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record.

Ready for another battle

Having played nearly 3,000 minutes in the competition in the 2025–26 season alone, it was reasonable to imagine that Mendes would arrive at the World Cup with the Portuguese national team feeling worn out.

Far from it. The left-back seems more lively than ever.

Having played virtually every minute of Portugal’s group-stage matches, Mendes has once again shown why he is considered one of the world’s best in his position, contributing intensely in both defence and attack.

His attacking presence had already caught the eye in Portugal’s opening match, a 1–1 draw with DR Congo, when he was the player with the most touches in the opposition’s penalty area throughout the match. But it was in the following match, the 5–0 thrashing of Uzbekistan, that this became even more evident.

In the 17th minute, Pedro Neto was fouled on the edge of the box. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the free-kick, with Mendes by his side. Naturally, all the Uzbekistan players were expecting CR7 to take the shot – one of the greatest free-kick specialists in history, who had already opened the scoring just a few minutes earlier.

But Portugal had a different plan.

The goal that united two generations

Ronaldo feinted as if he were going to take the kick, but it was Mendes who ran onto the ball, struck it with his left foot and found the back of the net.

It was a clever move, devised by one of the greatest players in football history and executed by one of the leading names of the new Portuguese generation.

In a way, the move symbolised a passing of the torch between generations: from an established star to one of his successors.

Later, Mendes revealed that the idea for the move had come from Ronaldo himself: “Cristiano said: ‘I’ll feint as if I’m going to shoot, and then you take the shot.’ It went something like that.” (Itatiaia)

The man who stopped Yamal

But this is not the first time Mendes has made his mark for Portugal in a major tournament.

In 2025, he was one of the key players in Portugal’s Nations League victory. He provided the assist for Ronaldo’s decisive goal against Germany in the semi-final and scored his first goal for the senior side in the final against Spain.

His performance in the final was particularly memorable not only for the goal, but also for the way he managed to neutralise Lamine Yamal – who finished second in the 2025 ‘Ballon d'Or’ – right from the kick-off.

The Barcelona star is one of the best players in the world, possessing a dribbling ability capable of dismantling any defence. Even so, he always found it very difficult when he came up against Nuno Mendes.

In 2026, Yamal was asked about the toughest opponent he had ever faced. His answer was immediate: “For me, it’s Nuno Mendes. He’s very good. I enjoy playing against him.” (Spanish Football Federation)

Mendes faced Yamal again in the World Cup, but had to leave the pitch due to injury early in the second half.

Spain’s winning goal, which ended the dreams of Mendes and so many Portuguese supporters, only came in the final minutes of the match, by which time he had long since been on the bench.

Despite the frustration of being knocked out of the World Cup, Mendes will carry on doing what he’s always done: looking ahead to the next challenge and moving on.

In August 2026, he had already kicked off the new season with PSG, helping the club beat Aston Villa to win the 2026 UEFA Super Cup.

He has now received his second consecutive nomination for the Ballon d’Or.