CARLOS SAVOURS TASTE OF SHRIMPS

BORN in the Senegalese capital and raised in Lanzarote, there were probably more obvious routes into professional football for Carlos Mendes Gomes than the English fourth tier with Morecambe.

- Peter White

The exciting attacker was only 19 when he signed his first Shrimps deal in 2018, but arrived with an intriguing track record and an incredible variety of football experiences.

From lining up opposite current Inter Milan star Achraf Hakimi while at the Atletico Madrid academy, to being granted an eye-opening introduction to the English men’s game with Non-League West Didsbury & Chorlton, Mendes Gomes believes each experience shaped him.

Now an established member of Derek Adams’ squad, the 21-year-old still remembers his humble beginnings and has always lived in the belief that hard work would eventually bear fruit.

Opportunities

“I moved to Spain from Senegal with my parents when I was two years old,” he explained. “My dad got a job over there and they decided there would be better opportunities in life.