Chelsea-bound star picks up new shirt number as tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo despite belief of curse around it: Reports

Chelsea-bound Geovany Quenda is Sporting CP
Chelsea-bound Geovany Quenda is Sporting CP's new no.7

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portuguese compatriot, Geovany Quenda, has been announced as Sporting CP’s new number 7 for next season, ahead of his move to Chelsea in the summer of 2026. The Blues agreed on a reported €52 million deal back in March for Quenda.

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The 18-year-old joined Sporting’s U15 side in 2019 and was promoted to the senior team in 2024. He played a key role for the team last season, helping them win their 21st Liga Portugal title.

Quenda was previously wearing the No. 57 shirt number at Sporting CP before his recent change to the iconic number 7. With this change, he joins Sporting’s elite list of players who have donned the historic number.

The number 7 shirt has been vacant at Sporting since 2022. As per Portuguese outlet A Bola (via talkSPORT), Quenda chose the number as a tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo’s legendary career with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr, and the Portuguese national team.

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Manchester United reportedly showed interest in Quenda, and the youngster’s career path might have mirrored Ronaldo's had he opted to join the Red Devils instead of Chelsea. While reports suggest that Quenda chose the No. 7 at Sporting in honor of Cristiano Ronaldo, it is important to note that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner never wore that number at the Lisbon-based club.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore No. 28 during his time at Sporting, but he was handed the number 7 shirt upon joining Manchester United – a number he has continued to wear at all his clubs since then. While Quenda will be hoping to elevate his performances in his final season at Sporting, there are concerns about his choice of shirt number. This is because players who have worn the number post Luis Figo have often underperformed at the club

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In fact, there were reports that Sporting at one time considered abandoning the number due to the so-called 'curse,' with players like Shikabala, Joel Campbell, and Matheus Pereira failing to live up to expectations while wearing it. It remains to be seen whether the Chelsea-bound star can break the supposed curse.


Former Chelsea player wanted club to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for Club World Cup

Before the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup commenced, ex-Chelsea player John Mikel Obi said he’d love the Blues to make a stunning move for Cristiano Ronaldo. FIFA had granted transfer flexibility for clubs participating in the tournament, allowing them to sign players on short-term deals. At the time, Cristiano Ronaldo was facing an uncertain future at Al-Nassr, with his contract set to expire.

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Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, Mikel said he’d love to see Cristiano Ronaldo play for Chelsea in the Club World Cup, believing that Liam Delap could learn from him. He stated:

“I'll like to, obviously, but there's this ten-day transfer period just for the tournament for the clubs to get one or two players into their teams for the FIFA Club World Cup tournament. I think it might be Al Hilal if he goes, so they're trying to make him get to the tournament which will be good, even for the fans, and for all of us to see Ronaldo and Messi compete in another tournament.
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“It's amazing. Ronaldo is an amazing player, top goalscorer, it'll be great to see him. Doing it at Chelsea? Yes. Of course we need a number nine, and he's someone Delap can learn from, but everyone knows the number nine that I want us to get, but we're not getting him.”

Cristiano Ronaldo eventually penned a two-year contract extension with Al-Nassr, while Chelsea were crowned champions at the Club World Cup after beating PSG 3-0 in the final.

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Edited by Nived Zenith
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