His professional career was intimately connected with Sporting de Gijón, with whom he spent 12 years, amassing La Liga totals of 311 games and 34 goals over 11 seasons and appearing in 443 competitive matches.
[1] Born in San Roque, Province of Cádiz, Andalusia, Mesa started playing football at local side Real Balompédica Linense.
In 1975, after having been discovered by renowned scout Enrique Casas, he was bought by Sporting de Gijón, making his La Liga debut on 28 December in a 1–0 away loss against UD Salamanca and adding a further ten appearances during that season, which ended in relegation.
[2] From 1978 onwards, with the Asturias team back in the top flight, Mesa played an essential part in their domestic consolidation, helping to a runner-up place in the 1978–79 campaign, back-to-back Copa del Rey finals in the early 80s – both lost – and four UEFA Cup participations; due to his incredible stamina, he earned the nickname Siete Pulmones (Seven Lungs).
As the player, aged nearly 35, was becoming less productive, his contract was not renewed and he joined Real Murcia CF also of the top tier, but left unsettled after a couple of weeks.