Claudio Mendes
Claudio "Clau" Mendes Vicente is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Spanish club UD Las Palmas Atlético. Born in Spain, he represents Guinea Bissau internationally.Club career
Born in Arrecife, Las Palmas, Canary Islands to Bissau-Guinean parents, Mendes represented SRCyD Torrelavega and CD Orientación Marítima as a youth before joining UD Las Palmas in 2019. Initially assigned to the C-team in Tercera División, he made his senior debut on 31 August of that year, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 1–2 away loss against CD Buzanada.
Mendes scored his first senior goal on 7 September 2019, netting the last in a 3–0 home success over EMF Atlético Unión Güímar. In December, he also started to feature for the reserves in Segunda División B.
Mendes made his first team debut with the Amarillos on 13 June 2020, replacing Juanjo Narváez late into a 0–0 Segunda División home draw against Girona FC; aged 19 years and 188 days, he became the third-youngest debutant of the club's history who was born in the isle of Lanzarote, only behind Sito and Antonio Betancort's debuts.International career
Born in Spain, Mendes is of Bissau-Guinean descent. He represented the latter's under-18s for the 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification, scoring a goal on his debut.Personal life
Mendes' twin brother Leo is also a footballer. A goalkeeper, both finished their formation at Orientación before moving to different teams.
