Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Jhegson Mendez was born on April 26,1997, in Mira, Ecuador. He is a midfielder in Major League Soccer.

Mendez has five senior caps for Ecuador, and played for Ecuador's U-20 squad at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the world. Mendez joined Independiente del Valle of Ecuador's top flight of soccer in 2015. In his time with Valle, Méndez appeared in 81 total competitions for the club, including two starts at defensive midfield in both legs of the 2018 Copa Libertadores. He also had a loan stint with Cultural Leonesa from August 2015 to January 2016.

 In July 2019, Méndez was part of the Orlando City team alongside Nani and Chris Mueller that won the 2019 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, beating teams from the MLS All-Stars and Atlético Madrid to win the $25,000 prize for charity.

Mendez is a young, athletic defensive midfielder who has already made a name for himself in his native Ecuador. The Independiente del Valle product has experience at Copa Libertadores level that he will look to bring to Orlando City, to help lock down the midfield for the Lions.