Portsmouth FC supporters will never forget Pedro Mendes action taken in 2012: View | OneFootball

Pedro Mendes played an integral role on and off the pitch for Portsmouth.

Pedro Mendes will forever be remembered as one of football's good guys. As well as his exploits on the pitch, the retired midfielder was known for his infectious smile and long-range strikes during spells with Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur.

The former Portuguese international spent four years in English football and was part of Portsmouth's famous FA Cup winning side in 2008.

While Mendes will be remembered for his iconic long range goals, he also made a lasting impact off the pitch with action he took in 2012, which will forever put him in Portsmouth folklore.

Pedro Mendes joined the Portsmouth Supporters Trust in 2012

The Portsmouth Supporters Trust is a democratic, non-profit organisation of supporters, who are committed to strengthening the voice of supporters in the decision-making process at the club.

In February 2012, whilst they were a Championship club, Portsmouth entered administration for a second time in 18 months, and received a 10-point penalty as a result of their financial struggles - ones that had previously relegated them from the top flight of English football.

Mendes, who spent three years at the club, signed up to the Portsmouth Supporters Trust in the same year. He joined a group of over 5,000 Pompey fans who united in their attempts to take ownership of the South Coast club, as per The News.

Although the club were on the brink of collapse in the summer of 2012, the football club was saved by the trust, who solved the problem of the club's football-related debts by 2013, as per The Athletic.

The Portuguese had already cemented himself as a fan favourite at Fratton Park for his heroics on the pitch, but his action with the trust accelerated it further.

If it were not for the actions of supporters, then Pompey's recent history would have been entirely different.

The central midfielder arrived at Fratton Park in high esteem in January 2006 - six years prior to his off the pitch actions - having enjoyed spells for FC Porto and Spurs.

Harry Redknapp signed Mendes as part of a triple deal from former club Tottenham, which included the arrivals of Sean Davis and Noe Pamarot, for a combined fee in the region of £7.5m, as per BBC Sport.

While the club were faced with the daunting prospect of relegation, Mendes' iconic brace against Manchester City ignited their great escape.

Following his double against City, the club secured their Premier League status with a six-match unbeaten run, which included victories over West Ham United, Fulham and Middlesbrough.

The club went on to achieve their greatest league finishes in recent history, finishing ninth and eighth in 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively.

At the end of the 2007/08 season, Mendes helped Pompey achieve their greatest feat in recent times by winning the FA Cup for the second time in the club's history.

Although the midfielder departed for Glasgow Rangers in the summer of 2008, his influence at the club remained as he signed up to the Portsmouth Supporters Trust as mentioned in 2012.

The retired footballer reflected on his time at Fratton Park when speaking to The News in 2022, saying: "Pompey is a club I’ll never forget and the Pompey fans were fantastic to me all the time, and I’ll be grateful for them all the time.

"I saw the way they love their club alongside the passion they have for it."

The memory of Mendes at Portsmouth is a fond one, both because of his on-field contributions and also because he helped to save the club from financial ruin.

Pompey had a lot of talent pass through Fratton Park in the mid-2000's, and in that period they also played European football, which the midfield maestro didn't take part in due to his move to Scotland, but despite that, Mendes will go down in folklore as a much-heralded Pompey individual.