Posted on November 5, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. by Arthur Montagne
Sixth and last summer recruit of PSG, Nuno Mendes left his training club, Sporting, to take the plunge abroad. An upheaval in the life of the 19-year-old left-back who finds himself propelled into one of the most ambitious teams in the world. The Portuguese international thus evokes his integration.
This summer, PSG achieved an impressive recruitment by attracting very big names in football like Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi , an experienced player with Georginio Wijnaldum , one of the best goalkeepers in the world, recently voted best player of the Euro ( Gianluigi Donnarumma ) and the one presented as the best right-back on the planet ( Achraf Hakimi ). And to complete this transfer window, PSG obtained the loan from Nuno Mendes . Less known than the other recruits, the Portuguese international remains one of the greatest promises in Europe as a left-back. From the top of his 19 years, Nuno Mendes landed in the form of a paying loan of € 7M with a purchase option estimated at € 40M. A radical change for the young Lusitanian who leaves his training club and his country of birth for the first time. All at just 19 years old. In the columns of Onze Mondial, Nuno Mendes recognizes besides that it passed in another dimension. “We are at a higher level than what I had experienced at Sporting. There were good players at Sporting, but playing with Messi, Neymar, Mbappé … it's another world! It's okay, I'm adapting, I'm improving day by day, ”he assures us.
Nuno Mendes judges his integration
Such an upheaval in the life of the young side left is not trivial. Also at Onze Mondial, Nuno Mendes tells about his integration into PSG . “It's okay, it's starting to calm down because I haven't stopped since signing.” I had time to find a house, to bring back things from Portugal. Now, I want to discover the city, I have not yet had the time to do so since we play every three days, ”says the Portuguese international who adds that he still has some progress to make before. to master the French language: “It's difficult! I take lessons, I want to learn quickly to better communicate with the team. In training we speak Spanish, English, French, so it's okay, I can understand. I don't speak much, I am a very reserved person. But I will open up to the future. I can count on Danilo's help. He is a very honest person who gives me a lot of advice. Young and reserved, Nuno Mendes must therefore adapt to Parisian life, and it is not always easy. “What impressed me in Paris? Traffic ! It's amazing, there are traffic jams all the time! It's a hell of a difference. The climate too, it rains often, ten minutes later, the weather is fine. It's weird, but I'll get used to it, ”he concludes.