There were more than five hours on the clock and yet Novak Djokovic was still not done. As Centre Court shook, Djokovic’s 11-year-old son, Stefan, watched on with his head in his hands, up way past his bedtime but gripped by what his 39-year-old father was producing. Felix Auger-Aliassime stood over a forehand and sensed his moment to strike, but Djokovic, in a flash, sprang to his right deep behind the baseline, extending the point and the Canadian third seed’s torment. Auger-Aliassime netted and it broke him; the decisive point in the match tiebreak that settled the longest Wimbledon quarter-final ever, a victory that Djokovic ranked as one of his finest on Centre Court.
“These are the moments I still play for,” said Djokovic. If the scoreline – 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4) – was scarcely believable in itself, the sight of Djokovic stretching his limbs and denying the 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime, in five hours and 15 minutes, was sheer madness. It equalled the longest match of Djokovic’s Wimbledon career, eight years on from the 2018 semi-final with Rafael Nadal that was held overnight. Djokovic managed this in one epic, gruelling sitting and just five minutes before the 11pm curfew. When the moment required it, he once again raised his level, booking a semi-final with defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday.
Djokovic soaks in the applause of Centre Court after an astonishing win over Auger-Aliassime in five hours and 15 minutes (AP)
The celebrations were memorable, the victory too – a battle Djokovic prevailed from in front of his children on Centre Court adding to the sweetness. And yet the message afterwards from Djokovic was that he is not done yet. The records – an eighth consecutive Wimbledon semi-final, the 15th of his career – did not matter. “Right now, it’s all business,” Djokovic confirmed. The pursuit of the grand slam record and a 25th title is what fuelled his extraordinary fight and refusal to submit, and yet it is still two rounds away. “I wish it was finals so I don’t need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow,” Djokovic said.
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And there could lie the problem. At this stage of his career, and since the gold medal match against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Olympics, Djokovic’s finest victories have arrived before the final. Last season, the quarter-finals of grand slams fell in the the sweet spot where Djokovic was fresh enough to compete against younger opponents, but late enough in the tournament where he knew he needed to step it up. He did, in defeating Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev at the French Open, Flavio Cobolli at Wimbledon and Taylor Fritz at the US Open. Outlasting Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon is another added to the list.
Djokovic, though, arrived at those semi-finals and found that he was physically cooked, unable to recover for the next challenge. The exception came at the Australian Open in January, and was memorable in itself with Djokovic ending Sinner’s reign in Melbourne by beating the world No 1 in five sets. But that followed a different sort of tournament for Djokovic, after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew and Lorenzo Musetti retired from their quarter-final due to injury while leading by two sets. Djokovic arrived into his semi-final with Sinner fresher, but after he prevailed he still ran into Alcaraz in final, where he eventually ran out of gas.
Djokovic will have an extra day to recover before he plays Sinner on Centre Court on Friday in a rematch of last year’s semi-final. It may prove to be invaluable. “Let’s see. Let’s see,” Djokovic said. “I have an extra day, which is good.” Sinner, by comparison, has won his last four matches in straight-sets and has not been pushed past the three-hour mark since his opening-round scare against Miomir Kecmanovic last week. Djokovic, meanwhile, has only played one match in under three hours. Djokovic may be matching the heroics of fellow 39-year-old Lionel Messi, yet he wished he could play 90-minute matches like him, too.
Djokovic denied the third seed Auger-Aliassime with another quarter-final victory that rolled back the years (Getty)
And it is the brutal reality of sport that there is no trophy for Djokovic for reaching another semi-final, or for Auger-Aliassime for falling just a few points short after more than five hours in one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history. But in another sense, tonight felt as if the recognition for Djokovic and his latest victory against the younger generation actually could have been enough, with Centre Court rising to its feet for the match tiebreak and this marathon quarter-final. “I still want to go at least one more step further,” he said. “But this was as good as a final for me.”
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There was no doubt, however, that Djokovic, the man who has nothing to prove, once again left behind something special on Centre Court. Even if recent history repeats itself and Djokovic arrives into his semi-final showdown with Sinner spent from his marathon efforts in the previous round, he will always have the roar of Wimbledon as he shone bright yet again on the biggest stage. Then again, there is no Alcaraz on the other side of the draw. This dominant version of Sinner has been beaten once and can be beaten again. Who would rule Djokovic out on the evidence of this unbelievable night.
Spence lost his undefeated record to Crawford in traumatising style, finding himself on the wrong side of one of the standout performances of this generation, dealt a cruel beatdown to bring his reign atop the 147lb division to a brutal close.
After an extended period away from the sport, Spence is finally set to return to the ring this month, but when reflecting on that fateful night, ‘The Truth’ spoke about a poor training camp and lack of communication with his then trainer James.
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“Nope [I had no conversations with James about how to go about the fight]. That camp was bulls**t. I did no sparring. The guys didn’t fit – I had no southpaws in there to spar. It was all out of whack.”
However, speaking on The Last Stand Podcast, James offered his response to those claims, explaining that Spence sparred switch-hitters rather than southpaws and that his sparring was reduced due to a rib injury.
“He had two guys that were switch hitters [as sparring partners], both of them fought left-handed, right-handed, and supposedly one of them injured him.
“I didn’t see when it happened and he didn’t acknowledge that he was injured, but the next following week we sparred, then we took a day off from sparring, then we sparred against on Saturday.
“So, that’s when I realised, they was like ‘hey man, his ribs are hurt,’ I said, ‘listen, you need to go get that looked at, checked out,’ and I guess he did or he didn’t. I don’t know because I didn’t go with him but we just kept working.
“His father said he’s not sparring, that he was going to save it for the fight. His father is the one that said no sparring, and he was complaining about the way the other guys were sparring, so that’s who it was.
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“The funny thing about it was, the week of being in Vegas I said that we can spar a little bit but spar with one of your buddies that won’t shoot body shots if you have an injury. And he said ‘No, I’m not doing that, I’m not sparring. No.’ So he wouldn’t even do it then.”
Spence returns to action under the tutelage of Ronnie Shields when he takes on Tim Tsyzu on Sunday, July 26, in Australia, hoping to announce himself as a threat to the super-welterweight world titles and kickstart a charge towards becoming a two-division world champion.
India captain Shreyas Iyer was furious after his team’s crushing 125-run defeat to England in the third T20 International, describing the performance as “atrocious” and admitting such a heavy loss was “not acceptable”. Under Iyer, India are yet to win a T20 International, and Tuesday’s outing marked an abject surrender as they were bowled out for 76 in just 11.4 overs while chasing 202, suffering their biggest defeat in the format in terms of runs.
“It was atrocious. Losing by that margin is not acceptable. First things first, we have to accept the loss and go back to the drawing board,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
The win handed England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series ahead of the fourth T20I in Bristol on Thursday and the final in Southampton on Saturday. The opening match was a washout.
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Former India star Dinesh Karthik found Iyer’s words odd but acknowledged that he had every right to feel disgruntled.
“Yes, India did not bat well. Probably one of the worst batting performances in a long time. But it was interesting, maybe odd, you can say, for the captain to come down quite hard on the batting unit. He used the word atrocious to describe their batting; he used the word awful as well,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“You could see how disgruntled and a little upset he was, and he must be angry, understandably so. But knowing Shreyas Iyer, he has to come back because he is such a key member of that batting unit that when he scores, the team looks different, as we have seen with PBKS (Punjab Kings). He is such a critical component of this batting order as well.”
After winning the T20 World Cup 2026 final, India have lost two T20Is each against Ireland and England, while one match was washed out.
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“What’s happening to Team India? Four of the last five matches have been lost, and we are the world champions at the moment. The pitch was probably a little slow, but you expected 200 to be the par score. We felt India could have, and should have, chased that down,” Karthik said.
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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced that former Olympic athlete David Hearn was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury following his arrest last month at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn, 67, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he awaits trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.
David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoeing final of the 2000 Summer Olympics at Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Penrith, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2000.(David Madison/Getty Images)
Hearn was indicted last week on a felony destruction of property charge following his arrest in connection with the June 19 incident. Hearn denied damaging the pool, saying he stopped on a bike ride and touched a loose piece of the peeling blue coating “to satisfy my curiosity as a citizen.”
Prosecutor Kevin Reddington said the government wasn’t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order,” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.
Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”
David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoeing final of the 2000 Summer Olympics at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Penrith, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2000.(David Madison/Getty Images)
Dohrmann also said “the government’s evidence is weak.”
The Reflecting Pool recently underwent a $14 million rehabilitation project under President Trump. Hearn’s indictment came after several people were arrested or cited for allegedly damaging the reflecting pool.
Video of Hearn’s arrest went viral on X after it was captured by journalist Emily Miller. Miller accused the former Olympian of grabbing a hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear algae.
Hearn denied the accusation but admitted his bike tire might have hit the hose.
Jul 8, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng (39) hits an RBI-single against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
With separate five-game winning streaks in the past two weeks, the Boston Red Sox continue to roll.
On Thursday afternoon, they’ll aim to keep a perfect road trip going and secure a sweep of the slumping Chicago White Sox.
Boston is 5-0 to start a nine-game trip entering the All-Star break and has won 10 of its past 12 games overall. The Red Sox beat Chicago 5-0 Wednesday night to earn a series victory against the White Sox, who have lost five of their past seven contests.
“Man, we’re having fun,” Boston third baseman Caleb Durbin said. “It definitely feels different in the clubhouse, different in the dugout. I mean, we’re clicking. So, it’s a lot of fun when you’re stringing some wins together and obviously feels the best it’s felt yet.”
Chicago suddenly is feeling opposite vibes. The White Sox still lead the Cleveland Guardians by one game atop the American League Central despite their slump, but a potent lineup has gone cold to begin a six-game homestand.
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Red Sox rookie left-handers Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett have combined to limit Chicago to eight hits in the series. The White Sox, fourth in the majors in home runs, have not scored in the past 11 innings.
“A couple tough arms, you know,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “These big lefties have really good fastballs and a lot of extension; these fastballs get on you a lot. We’ve just been seeing a lot of foul balls. … Just got to continue to compete.”
White Sox shortstop Luisangel Acuna collected two of the team’s four hits in Wednesday’s shutout loss. Colson Montgomery struck out three times and is 0-for-8 in the series.
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Meanwhile, three Red Sox delivered two-hit games Wednesday. Tsung-Che Cheng had a pair of RBI singles while Ceddanne Rafaela and Durbin also had two hits.
Left-hander Anthony Kay (6-3, 4.29 ERA) will aim to help the White Sox salvage a game in the series while trying for his first victory since June 12.
Kay has worked four innings or less in three of his past four starts. That includes last Thursday’s no-decision at Cleveland, when he spaced one run and one hit in four innings with two walks and two strikeouts before storms forced a lengthy rain delay that kept him from returning. Chicago lost 6-5.
Kay is 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA in five relief appearances vs. Boston, scattering 10 strikeouts and 10 hits in eight innings.
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Boston left-hander Patrick Sandoval will oppose Kay in his first major league appearance since June 21, 2024, following a recovery from Tommy John surgery and other injuries. The Red Sox activated Sandoval from the 60-day injured list on Monday.
“This whole process has been mentally draining and challenging, obviously,” Sandoval said. “The physical stuff, the setbacks and the pain, or whatever, but it took a toll mentally, for sure, and it just taught me a lot.”
Sandoval is 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox covering 15 1/3 innings.
Red Sox infielders Willson Contreras (left foot contusion) and Anthony Seigler (right trapezius contusion) left Wednesday’s game in the third inning due to injuries.
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Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game that Contreras could put weight on his foot and Seigler was experiencing soreness. Contreras told reporters he believes his injury is day-to-day.
The 2026 Genesis Scottish Open continues on Friday, July 10, with the second round at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. You can find full Genesis Scottish Open tee times for Friday’s second round at the bottom of this post.
But that doesn’t mean the six-time major champion isn’t trying to win his second career title here at the Renaissance Club. Need proof? Just look at his results from Thursday’s opening round.
Though he got off to a crooked start with a bogey at 10, his first hole of the day, McIlroy rallied in Round 1 to make an eagle and five birdies, including two straight to close out his round. That left him with a five-under 65 and a share of the early lead.
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Now the fan favorite and World No. 2 will try to maintain his good form in Friday’s second round.
You can watch Friday’s second round of the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will provide exclusive early streaming coverage starting early Friday morning at 3:15 a.m. ET, in addition to featured group and featured hole coverage.
Check out the complete Round 2 tee times and groupings for the Genesis Scottish Open below.
2026 Genesis Scottish Open tee times for Friday: Round 2 (ET)
Tee No. 1
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2:00 a.m. – Doug Ghim, Johannes Veerman, Cam Davis 2:11 a.m. – Adrian Otaegui, Michael Brennan, Chris Kirk 2:22 a.m. – Jake Knapp, Nacho Elvira, Dan Bradbury 2:33 a.m. – Freddy Schott, Sam Stevens, Tom McKibbin 2:44 a.m. – Paul Waring, Andy Sullivan, Sahith Theegala 2:55 a.m. – Corey Conners, Dan Brown, Jordan Gumberg 3:06 a.m. – Harry Hall, Guido Migliozzi, Matthieu Pavon 3:17 a.m. – Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, Kevin Yu, Eric Cole 3:28 a.m. – Antoine Rozner, Max Greyserman, Taehoon Ok 3:39 a.m. – Richard Mansell, Julien Guerrier, Erik van Rooyen 3:50 a.m. – Joakim Lagergren, Andrew Putnam, Jacques Kruyswijk 4:01 a.m. – Baekjun Kim, Nico Echavarria, Matteo Manassero 4:12 a.m. – Daniel Rodrigues, Zach Bauchou, Karl Vilips 7:15 a.m. – Joost Luiten, Martin Couvra, Max McGreevy 7:26 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Mikael Lindberg, Tom Kim 7:37 a.m. – Matt Wallace, Marco Penge, Scott Jamieson 7:48 a.m. – Alex Smalley, Padraig Harrington, Bernd Wiesberger 7:59 a.m. – Grant Forrest, Brooks Koepka, Min Woo Lee 8:10 a.m. – Ewen Ferguson, Patrick Cantlay, Nicolai Højgaard 8:21 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Kristoffer Reitan, Adam Scott 8:32 a.m. – Shane Lowry, J.J. Spaun, Aaron Rai 8:43 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Chris Gotterup 8:54 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Eugenio Chacarra 9:05 a.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Casey Jarvis, Alex Noren 9:16 a.m. – Keita Nakajima, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Ockie Strydom 9:27 a.m. – Pierceson Coody, Matti Schmid, David Ravetto
Tee No. 10
2:00 a.m. – Darius Van Driel, Ricky Castillo, Alejandro Del Rey 2:11 a.m. – Richard Sterne, David Puig, John Parry 2:22 a.m. – Hennie Du Plessis, Danny Willett, Andrew Novak 2:33 a.m. – Niklas Nørgaard, Joe Highsmith, Kota Kaneko 2:44 a.m. – Jordan Smith, Harris English, Nick Taylor 2:55 a.m. – Sungjae Im, Connor Syme, Billy Horschel 3:06 a.m. – Brian Harman, Calum Hill, Ryan Gerard 3:17 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Si Woo Kim, Jayden Schaper 3:28 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood 3:39 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Reed 3:50 a.m. – Jon Rahm, Alex Fitzpatrick, Rasmus Højgaard 4:01 a.m. – Austin Smotherman, Rikuya Hoshino, Davis Riley 4:12 a.m. – Dylan Naidoo, Kevin Roy, Mark Hubbard 7:15 a.m. – Mac Meissner, Ryggs Johnston, Frederic LaCroix 7:26 a.m. – Ashun Wu, Marcus Armitage, Taylor Moore 7:37 a.m. – Junghwan Lee, Bud Cauley, Adrien Saddier 7:48 a.m. – Brian Campbell, Michael Kim, Angel Hidalgo 7:59 a.m. – Laurie Canter, Matt McCarty, Shaun Norris 8:10 a.m. – Marcel Siem, Michael Thorbjornsen, Jesper Svensson 8:21 a.m. – Pablo Larrazabal, Kurt Kitayama, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 8:32 a.m. – Thriston Lawrence, Daniel Hillier, Charley Hoffman 8:43 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Thorbjørn Olesen, Yurav Premlall 8:54 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Angel Ayora, Brandt Snedeker 9:05 a.m. – Victor Perez, Oliver Lindell, Haotong Li 9:16 a.m. – Austin Eckroat, Yuto Katsuragawa, Dylan Frittelli 9:27 a.m. – Seungbin Choi, Johnny Keefer, Adrian Meronk
It seems everyone loves Kylian Mbappé again. The France captain, is having a magnificent showing in the World Cup, scoring seven goals so far and breaking records. His performance has led some who previously criticized him for being too outspoken, or for leaving Paris to play in Madrid, to ask for forgiveness.
Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever passes the ball against Dearica Hamby #5 of the Los Angeles Sparks during the second quarter of the game at Crypto.com Arena on July 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images/AFP
LOS ANGELES — Nneka Ogwumike had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists and the Los Angeles Sparks spoiled Caitlin Clark’s return, beating the Indiana Fever 106-92 in the WNBA on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Clark returned after missing two games because of a back injury. She had nine points in 16 minutes for Indiana (12-9).
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Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 29 points. Lexie Hull added 14, Damiris Dantas had 12 and Tyasha Harris 10. Indiana star Aliyah Boston sat out because of right leg injury.
Rae Burrell added 22 points for Los Angeles (9-11). Dearica Hamby added 21 points and nine rebounds, and Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins each scored 12 for Los Angeles. Kelsey Plum (lower left leg) and Cameron Brink (left ankle) did not play.
Atkins’ steal and fast-break layup capped Los Angeles’ 7-2 to begin the second half for a 55-43 lead. The Sparks led 82-71 entering the fourth.
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Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaun (13) grabs a loose ball in front of Toronto Tempo forward Isabelle Harrison during the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Toronto on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO — Janelle Salaun scored 26 points and the Golden State Valkyries held off the expansion Toronto Tempo 83-75 in the WNBA on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory.
Fellow reserve Kaitlyn Chen added 16 points for Golden State (16-7). Kayla Thornton had 15 points and nine rebounds.
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Isabelle Harrison had 24 points and eight rebounds for Toronto (9-12). The Tempo have lost three straight.
Marina Mabrey scored 11 points a day after being named the Tempo’s first WNBA All-Star. She also had six rebounds and four assists.
Toronto players Brittney Sykes (left plantar fascia), Kiki Rice (ankle sprain), and Temi Fagbenle (concussion) all missed the game.
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The Dodgers will travel from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. on the off-day of their nine-game East Coast road trip where they will play the Phillies, New York Yankees and New York Mets.
President Donald Trump posted an invitation to the Dodgers on social media shortly after their dramatic win in Game 7:
“Congratulations to the L.A. Dodgers, a game won by incredible CHAMPIONS!!! A lesser group of men would never have been able to win that game, or game 6, for that matter. So many stars made it all happen. Also, congratulations to ownership. What a great job they have done. SEE YOU ALL AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!”
Roberts told the Los Angeles Times in February that going to the White House to celebrate the World Series is a part of tradition.
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country. For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
World Series champions have typically made their White House visit when in town to play the Nationals. The schedule did not allow the Dodgers to make the trip when they played Washington in early April.
Chelsea have officially announced the signing of Portuguese winger Geovany Quenda from Sporting CP, with the 19-year-old signing an eight-year contract.
Quenda arrives at Stamford Bridge after spending the 2025/26 season on loan at Sporting, following Chelsea’s agreement to sign one of Portugal’s brightest young talents.
The Blues confirmed the transfer on social media with the message:
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“He’s here.”
Chelsea reportedly paid around £40 million for Quenda as part of a double deal that also brought midfielder Dário Essugo to west London from Sporting.
Speaking after completing the move, Quenda expressed his excitement about joining the club.
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“I’m excited to work with my teammates and give everything for this club. I can’t wait to get started and help Chelsea achieve great things.”
The teenager made history at Sporting by becoming the club’s youngest-ever league goalscorer and quickly earned a reputation as one of Portugal’s most exciting young wingers because of his pace, creativity and style of play.
Quenda now begins the next chapter of his career at Chelsea, where he will hope to continue his development and make an immediate impact as the club builds for the future.
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