Clau Mendes

Claudio "Clau" Mendes Vicente (born 8 December 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Spanish club UD Las Palmas. Born in Spain, he represents Guinea Bissau internationally.

Club Career

Born in Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands to Bissau-Guinean parents, Mendes represented SRCyD Torrelavega and CD Orientacion Maritima as a youth before joining UD Las Palmas in 2019. Initially assigned to the C-team in Tercera Division, 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 Atletico Union Guimar. In December, he also started to feature for the reserves in Segunda Division B.

Mendes made his first team debut with the Amarillos on 13 June 2020, replacing Juanjo Narvaez late into a 0–0 Segunda Division 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.