fans uniting in their attempts to take over the ownership of Portsmouth Football Club. Rangers On 15 August 2008, Mendes completed a £3 million transfer to Rangers, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut one day later, starting and winning the man of the match award in the 2–0 Scottish Premier League win over Hearts. He scored his first goal for the club in the first Old Firm match of the season on 31 August 2008. Mendes scored the fourth goal of the match (and Rangers' third) when he received the ball from a Steven Davis corner and drilled it from 25 yards out into the Celtic goal. He was named SPL Player of the Month for August after a string of impressive performances. He scored the second goal of the game in Rangers' title winning game against Dundee United in May 2009 but missed the 2009 Scottish Cup Final due to injury. He won the BBC Sportsound Player of the Year in 2008–09 for accumulating the most man-of-the-match performances throughout the season. The following season, Mendes made eight appearances but was injured in November during a UEFA Champions League match against Unirea Urziceni, which was his final appearance. Later years On 30 January 2010, Mendes joined Sporting CP in a deal worth €1.28 million. When he signed, he became a first choice midfielder for the club under the management of Carlos Carvalhal, and despite the club finishing in a disappointing fourth place, he was praised for his performances. He scored his first goal in his first season of the club in a win over Everton in the UEFA Europa League, and again against former club Rangers in the tournament's round of 32. The next season saw Mendes play less under the new manager of Paulo Bento, where he only managed to play 16 matches throughout the season. Best old firm goal against Celtic. On 15 July 2011, Sporting CP announced that Mendes had agreed to be released from the club and decided to sign with his boyhood club Vitória de Guimarães on a free transfer. He started off the next season by playing against former club Porto in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, which Vitória lost 2–1. From August to January 2012, he started all Vitória's matches in all competitions, including the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga, and the Europa League. In late January