He spent the better part of his 18-year professional career in Portugal, representing nine and amassing Primeira Liga totals of 87 games and three goals over the course of five seasons.
After a loan at Criciúma Esporte Clube in 1986, he moved abroad for the first time in his career in the 1987 summer, joining Portuguese club Louletano DC.
[2] After featuring regularly for the Algarve team, Mendes signed for Primeira Liga side S.C. Beira-Mar in June 1991.
The Uefa Pro Coach immediately after retiring, Mendes started working as a manager, with his last club Machico.
[7] On 20 April 2015, after being crowned champion of the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, Mendes was appointed manager of Clube Atlético Paranaense, replacing fired Enderson Moreira.
[9] In October 2015, Mendes signed a contract with Kashiwa Reysol of Japan's J1 League, but led the club for only three games before resigning next March for personal reasons.
[10] Later that month, Mendes was named at the helm of Santa Cruz Futebol Clube in his country's top flight,[11] but resigned on 9 August.
[18] The following month, he was hired at Campeonato Brasileiro Série B outfit Esporte Clube São Bento, but resigned from the last-placed team in November due to criminal allegations.