Geovany Quenda (born April 30, 2007) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right winger or right wing-back for Premier League club Chelsea. He completed his move to Chelsea from Sporting Lisbon in July 2026 on a contract until 2034.
Quenda came through Sporting CP’s junior system and was promoted to the main squad in 2024, where he established himself as an integral player for the club, helping them win the domestic double of the Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal, as well as being awarded Young Player of the Season.
Early career in Sporting CP
- Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Geovany Tcherno Quenda was born in Guinea-Bissau on April 30, 2007. He went to Portugal as a youth and began his football career in Amadora, playing for the Damaiense under-10s in the 2016-17 season.
He piqued the interest of Benfica, who took him to the Benfica Campus in Seixal. when two full seasons in Benfica’s juvenile divisions (2017-18 and 2018-19), Quenda, then 13, opted to leave the club for Sporting CP when Benfica failed to furnish him with a room at the Benfica Campus as promised.
In the 2021-22 season, he was already completely incorporated as a youth player in Sporting CP’s Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, and he played for the club’s under-15s squad, which won the national championship, as well as the under-17s, scoring 20 goals. In August 2023, he signed a professional deal with Sporting.
In the 2023-24 season, Quenda played for Sporting CP’s under-23 team in the Liga Revelação (U-23 league), despite being just 16 years old.He was also called up by manager Ruben Amorim for the first team on multiple occasions, but as an unused substitute.
On 17 February 2024, Quenda became the youngest ever player to appear for Sporting’s reserve team, starting a Liga 3 game against Amora at the age of 16.
The following season, Quenda was fully integrated into the first team, where he was adapted to play as a right wing-back, despite being naturally a right winger, earning the praise of his manager Ruben Amorim, who stated that “he is very talented, very mature, and understands the game like an adult”.
He made his first-team debut on August 3, and he became the club’s youngest player (at 17 years and 95 days), scoring the third goal in a 4-3 loss to rivals Porto in the 2024 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
According to Ruben Amorim, after impressing both offensively and defensively, especially given his young age, he earned a starting spot, with Quenda making his league debut for the club on August 9 in a 3-1 home win over Rio Ave.
On September 12, he signed a contract extension until 2027, increasing his buyout clause from €45 million to €100 million.
Five days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, starting in a 2-0 victory over Lille on the first day of the newly formed Champions League round.
On October 26, he scored his first league goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Famalicão. At 17 years, 5 months and 27 days, he became the youngest player to score a league goal for Sporting, surpassing Sporting CP Youth Academy graduates Simão Sabrosa (17 years, 6 months, and 16 days, in 1997) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17 years, 8 months, and 3 days, in 2002).
Rui Borges, the new coach of Sporting, initially converted Ruben Amorim and João Pereira’s 3-4-3 formation to a standard 4-4-2.
One of the changes made in this tactical shift was for Quenda to move to the left side of the midfield four, but by the end of the season, Borges had reverted to 3-4-3, with Quenda playing either on the left wing or right back.
On October 15, The Guardian, an English newspaper, named him one of the finest talents born in 2007 worldwide. After establishing his spot in the club, he made 28 appearances, totaling 2,260 minutes, as Sporting won its 21st league title, and was voted Young Player of the Season.
Sporting CP confirmed on March 14, 2025, that Quenda would join Premier League team Chelsea in the summer of 2026.
On September 18, Quenda sealed Sporting’s 4-0 victory over Kairat on the first matchday of the Champions League league phase. With that goal, he became the youngest Portuguese player to score in the UEFA Champions League at the age of 18 years, 4 months, and 20 days.
Geovany Quenda Signs for Chelsea
On July 8, 2026, Quenda officially joined Chelsea on an eight-year contract.
International Appearance
Quenda decided to represent Portugal internationally. Quenda represented the under-17 team at the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Cyprus.
Portugal finished second after losing the final 3-0 to Italy. He was named to the “Team of the Tournament” in recognition of his accomplishments throughout the competition.
He was called up to the senior squad for the first time on August 30, 2024, ahead of the UEFA Nations League openers against Croatia and Scotland the following month.
On October 11, Quenda made his under-21 debut, playing the complete 3-1 victory over the Faroe Islands in a 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.