Nuno Mendes: The overlooked decisive full-back
The 2024/25 Champions League campaign ended with Paris Saint-Germain finally lifting their first ever European title. And among the heroes of that historic run, one name stood out across headlines and talk shows: Achraf Hakimi.
Scoring in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final itself, Hakimi became the face of PSG’s triumph — so much that he was widely tipped as a Ballon d’Or contender alongside Ousmane Dembélé. His decisive goals shaped the public narrative; his performances were everywhere. He eventually finished 6th in the Ballon d’Or ranking.
But if you’ve been following us for a while, you know we don’t see goals as isolated achievements — we see them as shared team efforts.
And when we look at the data through the lens of goal contribution (gC), the story changes dramatically.
While Hakimi drew all the spotlight, his teammate on the opposite flank, Nuno Mendes, quietly had an extraordinary campaign.
Based on gC data, Mendes ranks as PSG’s 3rd most decisive player in the Champions League run, with a total gC of 3.92, behind Bradley Barcola (4.20) and Ousmane Dembélé (6.17).
Hakimi, on the other hand, comes in 6th with 3.39, behind Désiré Doué (3.78) and Vitinha (3.79).
Yet, Mendes only recorded 5 G/A, compared to 8 for Hakimi and Doué.
Vitinha also stands out — just 4 G/A, but a gC of 3.79 that tells a different story about his hidden influence.
Now, if we narrow down the analysis to the knockout stage, the picture becomes even more surprising. That’s the part of the competition where Hakimi scored his famous goals — and where the media narrative exploded.
Yet in reality, Nuno Mendes was almost twice as decisive, posting 1.87 gC compared to 0.98 for Hakimi.
Mendes reached that number by being involved in six goal actions, including 2 goals and 1 assist, while Hakimi’s three involvements all came as goals.
So while Hakimi’s finishing moments caught the world’s attention, Mendes’ constant involvement in the creation phase was just as vital — if not more.
This isn’t about discrediting one player or hyping another. Football is, and will always remain, a collective game. Every player listed above contributed to PSG’s long-awaited European triumph.
But our goal with gC is to make sure the public has fair and transparent metrics to interpret and tell the story of decisiveness in football — in a way that honors the collective DNA of the sport.
