Legacy Squad Numbers

Arsenal are being linked with all manner of profiles in midfield. Vastly different skillsets. And all can work in some way because the man they'll play with is Thomas Partey. …

Mesut Özil’s departure from Arsenal in January created a vacancy in the Gunners’ number 10 shirt, one which will surely be filled this summer. The former German international didn’t feature …

While numbering traditions vary from country to country, the notion of number 9 as the chief goal-getter is almost universal. Legends such as Alan Shearer, Filippo Inzaghi, Gerd Müller and …

Legacies can be tough to live up to, as evidenced by the recent history of the Manchester United number 7 shirt. Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid …

By Pablo Veroli Barcelona under Cruyff: The ‘false 9’, the infinite number and Pep looking for his destiny   In 1988, Johan Cruyff would return to Barcelona, this time as …

David Silva ended his decade long association with Manchester City this summer, with the popular Spaniard posting an emotional farewell on social media following a nine-minute cameo against Real Madrid …

From football players themselves to fans, everyone involved in the beautiful game feels some sort of affinity to squad numbers. There’s something undeniably fascinating about those seemingly simple numbers that are found on …

George Best. Eric Cantona. David Beckham. Cristiano Ronaldo. On the face of it, those four players have very little in common. Best was the self-confessed womaniser who, when time allowed, …

Although narrowly missing out on the Ballon d’Or this year, Virgil van Dijk still has quite a lot to be proud of. His progress so far at Liverpool is legendary …