Fans tend to favor the top footballers by becoming their fans and wearing a jersey of their favorite team with their number printed on them, and Real Madrid fans who have come to love Vinicius will have to make a major change if they want to wear one with his name and number starting this season.
The club announced today their shirt list for next season with four major gaps in it. The coveted Number 9 (which belonged to Karim Benzema), number 14 (not used last season), number 21 (last used by Rodrygo), and Number 24 (previously worn by Mariano), are the numbers that do not have an owner prior to the start of their new campaign. But why did Rodrygo change his number? The club gave him and Vinicius a major upgrade.
Both Brazilian players are seen as key to the team's future, and to honor that, the duo was presented with the chance to select a new number. Rodrygo left number 21 behind and chose the mythical number eleven, which belonged to footballers such as Arjen Robben or Gareth Bale. But if Rodrygo chose one of the top numbers out there, wait till you see the one chosen by Vinicius.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 12, 2023
@vinijr #RealFootball pic.twitter.com/JHP042N9m4
The former Flamengo player has never hidden his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, and the club decided to reward him by giving him the number that belonged to their all-time top scorer.
The rest of the numbers published by Los Merengues go as follow:
1. Thibaut Courtois
2. Dani Carvajal
3. Eder Militao
4. David Alaba
5. Jesús Vallejo
6. Nacho
8. Toni Kroos
10. Luka Modric
12. Eduardo Camavinga
13. Andriy Lunin
15. Federico Valverde
16. Alvaro Odriozola
17. Lucas Vázquez
18. Aurelién Tchouameni
19. Dani Ceballos
22. Antonio Rüdiger
23. Ferland Mendy
There might be many changes coming for Real Madrid this summer, as they need to replace several players up front and others (such as Vallejo or Odriozola) could still leave the club this summer. Will this new shirt number be the start of a new era for Los Blancos? We'll have to wait and see if Vinicius can handle the pressure.