Godwin Mensha

Godwin Mensha
	Mensha in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	2 September 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
2008–2009	Pedroñeras
2010–2011	Madridejos
2011–2012	Talavera de la Reina
2012–2014	Socuéllamos
2014–2015	Compostela
2015–2016	Balzan
2016	Mosta
2016–2017	Paykan
2017–2019	Persepolis
2019	Esteghlal
2019	Ajman
2020–2021	Gol Gohar
2021–2023	Mes Rafsanjan
2023–2024	Foolad
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 February 2024

Godwin Mensha (born 2 September 1989) is Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Foolad.

Club career

Malta

On 30 June 2000, Mensha joined Maltese Premier League side Balzan.^[1] However in the next January, his contract was terminated and he moved to fellow league team Mosta.^[2]

Paykan

On 27 July 2016, Mensha signed for Iranian club Paykan on a one-year contract.^[3]^[4] On 7 August, he made his debut in a 3–1 defeat against Tractor Sazi.^[5] On 20 September, Coming on as a substitute, he scored his first goals for Paykan, a brace in a 3–2 away win over defending champions Esteghlal Khuzestan.^[6] With 15 league goals, Mensha was the third highest scorer in the Premier League for the 2016–17 season, three goals behind Golden Boot winner Mehdi Taremi.^[7]

Persepolis

In May 2017, Mensha signed a contract with Pro League champions Persepolis.^[8] Mensha scored his first goal for the club on 3 August 2017, in a 2–1 victory against Tractor Sazi. On 22 August 2017, Mensha scored a crucial equalizer in Persepolis' 2–2 draw against Al Ahli in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the 2017 AFC Champions League. He scored his second goal for Persepolis from the penalty spot in an away match against Al Ahli.

Mensha scored seven goals in the AFC Champions League for Persepolis, making him fourth highest goalscorer for Persepolis in Asian competitions.^[9]

Esteghlal

In January 2019, Mensha and Persepolis came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club.^[10] He was then signed by cross-town rivals Esteghlal on an 18-month-long on 5 February 2019,^[11] making him the twentieth player to play for both clubs.^[12] After signing with the club, Mensha said: "I want to prove that I'm not wrong about joining Esteghlal." He was given the number 90 shirt, just as he was at Persepolis.^[13]

Mensha made his debut for the club on 7 February, in a 4–0 win against Paykan, as a 72nd-minute substitute for Dariush Shojaeian, assisting the third goal by Esmaël Gonçalves.^[14] On 28 February, in an away match against Foolad, he attacked an opponent fan after the fan pulled his hair while he was entering the stadium.^[15] During the match, he scored his first goal for his new club as well as providing an assist for the winner in the 3–1 away victory against Foolad. His goal came from Farshid Bagheri's pass from behind the halfway line, which he volleyed the ball past the keeper.^[16] Two days later, he was banned from all domestic football activities until further notice, due to the incident he had before the match.^[17] However, the ban was lifted a few days later after clarifying the incident for the FFIRI.^[18] On 5 May, with the arrival of new coach Farhad Majidi, he was excluded from training with the first-team due to his bad behaviour after he realised he is not a starter in the previous game against Padideh.^[19]

Ajman

On 11 July 2019, Mensha signed with UAE team Ajman on a two-year contract.^[20]

Gol Gohar

On 29 January 2020, Mensha returned to Iran signing with Gol Gohar Sirjan.^[21] He made his debut for the club on 1 February, coming on as a substitute for Mehrdad Bayrami in the 58th minute of a 1–1 draw against Pars Jonoubi Jam.^[22] Six days later he scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw against Tractor.^[23]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 February 2022

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental^[a]		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Madridejos	2010–11	Tercera División	31	20	0	0	—		31	20
Talavera	2011–12	Tercera División	26	17	0	0	—		26	17
Socuéllamos	2012–13	Tercera División	33	20	0	0	—		33	20
	2013–14	Tercera División	38	21	0	0	—		38	21
	Total		71	41	9	0	0	0	61	41
Compostela	2014–15	Segunda División B	29	4	0	0	—		29	4
Balzan	2015–16	Maltese Premier League	15	4	0	0	—		15	4
Mosta	2015–16	Maltese Premier League	16	10	0	0	—		16	10
Paykan	2016–17	Persian Gulf Pro League	28	15	1	1	–		29	16
Persepolis	2017–18	Persian Gulf Pro League	27	4	3	2	11	6	41	12
	2018–19	Persian Gulf Pro League	15	1	1	0	6	1	22	2
	Total		42	5	4	2	17	7	63	14
Esteghlal	2018–19	Persian Gulf Pro League	11	1	0	0	3	0	14	1
Gol Gohar	2020–21	Persian Gulf Pro League	28	14	2	1	–		30	15
Mes Rafsanjan	2021–22	Persian Gulf Pro League	11	11	0	0	–		11	11
Career total			280	128	7	4	20	7	335	153