03.09.2021 » Ronaldo will wear Manchester United's number 7 shirt
There was a lot of expectation towards the shirt number Cristiano Ronaldo was going to wear in his return to Manchester United, especially because Edinson Cavani, one of the team's stars, was already using the iconic #7 shirt since last year. Not only that, but the Premier League itself had clear rules about the impossibility of changing shirt numbers after the Premier League season had started. In theory and according to the best sportsbooks in Canada, the odds were stacked against Ronaldo retrieving his much-wanted shirt, but a series of events in the last few days allowed for the perfect scenario to unfold. Cristiano Ronaldo's second spell in England will be even more special now that as he managed to maintain the magical #7 shirt!
Cristiano Ronaldo - 7 iconic performances from Ronaldo at Man United:
The recent story behind shirt #7:
Owen, Valencia and Di Maria
When Ronaldo agreed his move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, everyone knew it was going to be extremely difficult to find a replacement worthy of wearing the same famous #7 shirt. The quality of football, dribbling, assists, goals and trophies delivered by Ronaldo during his 6 years stay at Manchester United had left a legendary legacy to every Red Devils' fan across the world and whoever was selected to wear his shirt number in the following years, would have to deal with an incredible amount of weight on his back...
The first player to experience wearing the number 7 shirt after Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid was Michael Owen. The former Liverpool forward struggled a lot with injuries and didn't score more than 5 league goals in his 3 seasons for the club. Next was Antonio Valencia, even though the Equatorian only played one season with the #7 on his back. In that season, he ended up only scoring a single goal in the Premier League.
In the 2014-15 season, Angel Di Maria was signed by Manchester United and he was immediately handed the #7 shirt. However and against all odds, the Argentine never lived up to the expectations and would also leave the club after a year. During his stay, Di Maria only managed to score 3 goals in the Premier League and a total of 4 in all competitions.
The recent story behind shirt #7:
Depay and Cavani
With Di Maria out of the picture, the next promising talent to wear the number 7 shirt was Memphis Depay. The Dutch, however, didn't adapt well to the Premier League and during his 2 seasons at the club only scored 2 goals in the league. Following next was Alexis Sanchez, but the outcome wasn't much different than the others. The former Arsenal star never really found his best game with Manchester and only scored 3 goals in his 2 seasons as a Red Devil.
Lastly, it was time for Manchester United to hand the shirt number 7 to a true centre forward, Edinson Cavani. Unlike his predecessors, the Uruguay international had a positive impact in the team and managed to score a total of 10 Premier League in his first season. Ironically, he was asked to release the #7 shirt now that Ronaldo has arrived to the club, which he seems to have done gladly!
With United sitting in 3rd place in the Premier League after 3 fixtures were completed so far, a new number 7 is ready to take over Old Trafford. More than 12 years have passed since Ronaldo entered the Theater of Dreams wearing Man United's #7 shirt and therefore, we can all understand the level of excitement and enthusiasm surrounding his first game with the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Portugal is on September 4, against Qatar. You can watch Portugal vs Qatar, Italy vs Bulgaria, Spain vs Georgia, Hungary vs England, Switzerland vs Italy, and Liechtenstein vs Germany, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Portugal next game:
Portugal vs Qatar kick-off time (04-09-2021):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 00:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 23:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 21:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 18:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 18:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 17:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 13:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 12:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 09:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / foxsports.com.au / 90min.com / eurosport.com
