Manchester United have confirmed that legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo will wear the legendary no. 7 shirt. He wore the no.7 shirt throughout his earlier stint with United and the club has made sure he will wear it this time too.
Official. Cristiano Ronaldo will wear number 7 at Manchester United… again. 🔴7️⃣👕 #MUFC #Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/MG6sPhp5dK
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 2, 2021
The legendary no.7 shirt in Manchester United lore has a lot of history behind it. It has been worn by legendary players who contributed a lot to the club. The names include George Best who won two first division trophies and a European Cup with this team and was also awarded the Ballon d’Or, Bryan Robson who was the captain of United when they won two successive Premier League trophies, Eric Cantona whose contribution to United doesn’t need to said and David Beckham who is considered one of the recognizable names in Football and has won the only treble in the history of English football with the club.
Post Ronaldo, the shirt has been passed to players like Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay, Alexis Sanchez. All have tried to recreate that magic of the legendary shirt but all failed especially the likes of Di Maria, Delay and Sanchez who were bought with a premium and were expected to take the team to a new level.
Ronaldo became associated with the number 7 having worn it throughout his legendary career everywhere he goes whether it was in Real Madrid or Juventus. The CR7 brand became recognizable by billions across the world and will continue that in his second spell with United.
He succeeds Edinson Cavani who wore the shirt throughout the last season. The Uruguay striker will now wear the no. 21 shirt, a number he wears for the national team too. The no. 21 shirt was vacated by Daniel James who has been sold to Leeds United.
Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances in his first spell with the English club and won three Premier League and one Champions League trophy. He won his first Ballon d’Or when he was with United too. He will be expected to play the club’s first game after the international break against Newcastle in Old Trafford, where he will play after 12 years.
