- The French forward Mbappé was finally presented this Monday as a Real Madrid player.
- Mbappé wore number 7 at Paris Saint-Germain and wears number 10 in France
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Kylian Mbappé is expected to wear the number 9 shirt for Real Madrid next season.
The Frenchman was confirmed this Monday as a Real Madrid player, ending one of the longest transfer sagas in modern football.
It comes after the 2018 World Cup winner decided not to activate a one-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain and instead fulfill a childhood dream by playing at the Santiago Bernabeu.
As reported by Fabrizio RomanoThe Frenchman is expected to wear the number 9 shirt, despite having a personal preference for the number 10.
However, there is a neat reason why he won’t be wearing his preferred number during the 2024-25 season.
Kylian Mbappé will not wear the number 10 shirt at Real Madrid as he does in France, and the Frenchman is expected to wear the number 9.
There is an elegant reason why Mbappé will not wear the number 10 at his new club in his first season
The shirt is currently worn by Luka Modric, who will remain at Real Madrid for at least one more year.
It is claimed that Mbappé and his team did not ask Real Madrid to keep the number 10 shirt, due to their respect for Luka Modric.
Modric has been Real Madrid’s number 10 since the 2017-18 season, having been worn by James Rodríguez and Mesut Ozil during their first five seasons at the club. Until 2017 he wore the number 19 shirt.
The Croatian midfielder, now 38, is expected to be out of contract this summer, before signing a new one-year contract with a lower salary.
Modric has accepted a more supporting role at the club this season, but has opted to remain at the club, unlike Toni Kroos, who will retire after this summer’s Euros.
Mbappé could therefore wait to have the number 10 shirt when it becomes available, as Modric nears the end of his career.
However, by wearing the number 9 he would follow in the footsteps of some iconic players who graced the Santiago Bernabéu.
The most recent player to wear the shirt is his former France teammate Karim Benzema, who represented the number for 13 years between 2010 and 2013.
Previously, Cristiano Ronaldo wore the shirt during his first season at the club.
Karim Benzema was the last player to wear the ‘9’ for Madrid, before leaving last summer
Cristiano Ronaldo briefly wore the number 9 when he first arrived at Real Madrid, only to switch to his preferred number 7 when club legend Raúl left the club a year later.
The Portuguese star, now at Al-Nassr, now found himself in a similar situation to Mbappe as he did not take his preferred number 7 shirt due to his respect for Real Madrid legend Raul.
The Spanish striker left in 2010, opening up the opportunity for Ronaldo to take the number 7.
The number 9 in Madrid has also been worn by Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario, Mbappé’s now former coach at PSG Luis Enrique, Hugo Sánchez and Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Although Mbappé wears the number 10 for France, he has not worn the number at club level since his only appearance for Monaco during the 2017-18 season, before joining PSG on loan.
Mbappé was number 7 at Paris Saint-Germain, number 10 was occupied by Neymar and then by Ousmane Dembélé.
Mbappé wore the number 7 shirt at Paris Saint-Germain, since Neymar had already adopted the number 10.
When Neymar left the club last summer, he joined Mbappé’s French international teammate Ousmane Dembélé.
Real Madrid’s number 7 shirt is currently worn by Vinicius Jr., favorite to win the next Ballon d’Or after helping Real Madrid win its 15th Champions League trophy on Saturday.
