The Insane Story Behind Chelsea’s New Wonderkid (The Facts You Never Knew)

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This is the incredible journey of Geovany Quenda, the 17-year-old who broke a 22-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo record at Sporting! From the coach who became his father figure to his dramatic switch out of Benfica's academy, Matt takes a look at his insane story and just why Chelsea are on to an absolute winner with their new wonderkid!

Transcript

00:00This is a map of London, this is a map of Lisbon and this is of Guinea-Bissau.

00:05What does one have to do with the other? Historically very little, until this summer that is,

00:09when a story about a leap of faith, a brutal betrayal and a man who bet his own reputation

00:14on an eight-year-old ended up with a £44m Premier League move for one of football's

00:19brightest prospects. This is the bizarre story of Chelsea's new wonder career.

00:25The year was 2016 and Giovanni Quenda, then just a boy, arrived in Lisbon from Guinea-Bissau.

00:52It's a small nation, not really known for its footballing prowess,

00:55although notably is the birthplace of another footballing prodigy

00:59in former Barcelona and now Monaco star Ansu Fati.

01:02It's a place where football is everything, but organised tactical training is quite rare.

01:07The focus is on having the ball over your feet and using pure skill.

01:10This cultural style will define Quenda's initial talent and having moved to Portugal

01:15would lead him to catching one person's eye in particular, that of former professional

01:20footballer Basola Lemba, who was the youth coordinator for Damaense, a local club in the

01:25Lisbon area. It's fair to say, as someone who used to play in the Portuguese Premier League and

01:30coach thousands of kids every year, he'd know a special talent when he saw one and Quenda

01:34was exactly that. In fact, Lemba was so impressed with this kid who played so effortlessly,

01:40used both feet and demonstrated levels of skill well beyond his years, that he immediately spoke to the

01:45president about signing him up, afraid of losing him to a bigger club's youth academy, which is

01:49fair enough given the size, reputation and resources of local giants, Sporting and Benfica.

01:54But here is where it gets interesting, like beyond the realms of normal football interesting.

02:00Lemba went to Giovanni Quenda's house, spoke to his father about signing him up,

02:04and then found out that his father was about to move to France.

02:08So what did they do? They agreed that the best thing for his footballing development

02:12was for his dad to grant a power of attorney and make Lemba Quenda's legal guardian in Portugal.

02:18This wasn't just a scout signing a player. This was a guy taking responsibility for a boy's entire

02:25life. He was practically his new dad in the country. He took responsibility to control his

02:30school situation, ensure his transfers were close to home and handled every adjustment that was

02:34fundamental to Quenda's personal process. So it was no surprise to Lemba, now representing

02:40Quenda, when Benfica and Sporting both came calling, although it was Benfica who pushed hardest

02:45and secured a deal for Quenda to join their prestigious academy at the end of the season.

02:50And once he arrived, he thrived under the pressure of this new reality and Benfica's academy

02:55immediately standing out. In his debut season, he led his age group to victory in the district

03:00championship, all whilst remaining incredibly humble, going as far as praising the opposition's

03:04sporting players when later on picking up the best player award at an international tournament.

03:11But at just 13 years old, a disagreement, a demand from the one person who knew his personal needs

03:16best, changed everything. Lemba was convinced that the best solution for Quenda's social and personal

03:22development was for him to live at Benfica's academy residence. The club agreed, but as soon as the

03:27season ended, they reneged on their word, claiming they simply didn't have enough room for him.

03:32In Lemba's eyes, this was the ultimate betrayal of trust and a complete lack of care towards the

03:38boys' welfare. He and Quenda's father visiting from France then confronted Benfica's coordinators,

03:44but they wouldn't budge. And so it was in the car park after that meeting that Lemba received a

03:50phone call from a director at Sporting. The information about the rift had already leaked,

03:54Sporting had a proposal ready and crucially promised everything that Lemba wanted for his child.

04:00The decision to move Quenda from Benfica to Sporting wasn't easy. Quenda's father was a

04:05massive Benfica fan and he had close friends at the club. However, Lemba was unwavering in his belief

04:10that Sporting offered the better pathway and better environment, eventually convincing them to embrace

04:15the new project. But not before Benfica made a desperate last minute lunge to rectify the whole

04:21situation. They offered the lot. Residency at the academy, a monthly salary, a place at a good college,

04:26but it was too late. Lemba had already given his word to Sporting and wasn't going back on it.

04:32Now, it's at this point, it's really where you see and understand the amount of belief that young

04:36players need behind them in order to succeed. And the belief that parents or guardians in this case

04:41need to have because, well, the situation turned, let's call it, unsavoury. Lemba was subjected to

04:48serious abuse. People even called Quenda's father, telling him that Lemba was going to ruin his son's

04:53career. The weight of that decision was immense. If it didn't work out, there'd be no coming back

04:58for Lemba in a professional sense. He was sat at 17 on the blackjack table and said, hit me.

05:04Thankfully, every party in this three-way committee concerning Quenda's career blocked out the noise

05:09and stayed on the same page, trusting the judgment of the man who had put Quenda's well-being at the

05:14top of his priority list ever since he first saw him. The switch, as I'm sure you're aware of now,

05:20was an eventual success. In fact, it was right from the off as Quenda excelled at sporting. The

05:25critical goals in the under-15s national championship victory, the remarkable 20-goal

05:29season in the under-17s, and the promotion to the under-23s at just 16. He was the academy's

05:34worst-kept secret, putting in dazzling displays that put him in the firm sights of first-team

05:38manager Ruben Amorim. Just like his style of play on the pitch, Quenda's rise was now accelerating

05:43at an unbelievable pace. At just 16 years old, he became the youngest ever player to appear for

05:48Sporting B in the third division, the clearest indicator thus far that the youth setup could

05:52barely contain his talent. But the true breakthrough came during pre-season leading into the 24-25

05:58campaign, where Quenda's impressive showings convinced Amorim to fast-track him into the

06:03first-team picture. The result? A dream professional debut in the Portuguese Super Cup against bitter

06:08rivals Porto, where despite the team's loss, Quenda rewrote club history, becoming his side's

06:13youngest-ever senior goalscorer. But he wasn't done there. Later that year, in his first league

06:18goal, and also his appearance in the heated Lisbon derby, against his former club of course,

06:23saw him become the youngest ever to do so in both categories, beating records previously held

06:28by Cristiano Ronaldo. The fans were astounded at their new young star. The club gave him a new deal

06:33with a €100 million buyout clause, funnily enough doing so just before his Champions League debut,

06:38because they knew what the rest of Europe was about to witness as soon as he featured in the

06:42competition. He earned a call-up to the Portuguese national team with coach Roberto Martinez,

06:46praising the teenager for having quality that is not normal for a 17-year-old. Check out the

06:51goal he scored to the under-17 national team against Morocco. It's ridiculous. He's a pure,

06:56creative wide player who exploits one-on-one situations, maintains his top speed whilst dribbling,

07:01and utilises a low centre of gravity that makes him incredibly difficult to dispossess.

07:06The biggest solution in Quenda's game, however, was born out of necessity,

07:10adapting his often individual-focused style of play to add a more team-centric edge to it.

07:15Basically, defending. And he did it. This versatility is what earned him the trust of Ruben

07:20Amarim, who was unafraid to play him as a wing-back despite his natural position being as a right

07:24winger. I sort of see it now with Amadialo at Manchester United, whose immense work rate

07:29sees him trusted in a wing-back role even when he's a more natural attacking player. But even as

07:34Quenda established himself in the first team and continued on to greater and greater heights,

07:38his Guardian maintained the cautious, tough-love approach, believing the ultimate success lay

07:43not just in talent, but in focus. Speaking in an interview in 2023, Lemba said,

07:49The only thing I want for him is to not get distracted. He has to focus 100% on football,

07:54because often kids, when they reach higher levels, start to get carried away.

07:58But as the young star picked up his award for the league's Young Player of the Year in the summer,

08:02he was getting carried away. Although this time, it was on a plane with fellow team-mate and fellow

08:07academy graduate Dario Esugo to London, where they both put pen to paper on long-term deals with

08:14Chelsea.

08:28For the young winger, this is not just a transfer. It's an entrance into the most ambitious youth

08:34project in world football. Chelsea's strategy under new ownership has been clear. Signed the best young

08:39talent globally on long-term deals and developed them. It's this sort of project and plan which,

08:44although doesn't work out for everyone at Chelsea, has plenty of precedent when it comes to the

08:48opportunities given to young players. These players, both foreign imports and academy graduates,

08:53intend to form the spine of Chelsea's team for the next decade. The competition will be immense,

08:58but the opportunity to learn and develop in a system that explicitly values youth is unparalleled.

09:03It's just now up to Quenda to prove he's got what it takes when he joins the club officially in summer 26.

09:09The story of Giovanni Quenda may have only just begun on a professional level,

09:13but when you look at all it has taken to get here, moving continent at a young age,

09:17growing up in a household that wasn't even his own, dealing with big decisions that directly

09:21impacted his dream career, he's more than well-equipped to deal with the fame,

09:25pressure and scrutiny that will come with playing for the biggest clubs in the biggest competitions.

09:29The gamble taken by his father has paid off. The belief shown by Baswana Lemba has paid off.

09:35Quenda's commitment has paid off. Sometimes a plan is so crazy that it just might work.

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