For the first time since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid have a proper number seven heading into a new season, in the form of Vinicius Junior.
The number was assigned to Vinicius Junior this summer, following the departure of Eden Hazard
The club decided to part ways with the Belgian earlier in the summer, by terminating his contract.
According to Mario Cortegana, the shirt number change this summer was requested by Vinicius Junior himself.
The Brazilian had anticipated a number of changes to the team heading into the new season, which included the departures of both Hazard and Karim Benzema.
Vinicius, who had previously worn the number 20 kit for Real Madrid, wanted to don the iconic number seven shirt.
The club obliged, as Florentino Perez sees him as the flagship player for the club in the years to come, and also as a viable commercial asset.
Real Madrid’s recent troubles with the #7
The iconic number seven kit has been donned by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, and even former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.
However, Real Madrid have not had a good experience with the number seven kit in recent years.
Following the exit of Ronaldo in 2018, the shirt was awarded to Mariano Diaz, who was coming on the back of an excellent season at Lyon.
But the forward was not able to live up to the expectations, forcing Real Madrid to spend big on Eden Hazard in 2019.
The Belgian was promptly awarded the number seven kit, but his stint with the Galacticos quickly turned sour.
Unfortunately, the former Chelsea superstar ended up enduring a worse spell at the Bernabeu. It ultimately forced Real Madrid to terminate his contract earlier in the summer.
With Hazard gone, Real Madrid would hope to have better luck with Vinicius. The Brazilian international has already hit the ground running with his performances in pre-season.
Despite the possibility of signing Kylian Mbappe this summer, everything suggests Vinicius will continue to be the main man for Los Blancos in the years to come.
