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Following Tammy Abraham's €40m switch to Roma, Chelsea officially assigned the jersey number 9 to Romelu Lukaku. This will be the Belgian's fifth season as a club's designated striker, having worn the said number on his back for Manchester United and Inter.
Logically speaking, shirt numbers cannot possibly affect an individual's performance on the pitch. Nevertheless, there have been numerous incidents when a player experienced a change in his fortunes, after switching to a particular number on the back.
Some notable changes in jersey numbers over the years
On his initial arrival at the Bernabeu, Cristiano Ronaldo was handed the No. 9 shirt, with club legend Raul occupying his favored number 7. Karim Benzema, who was also purchased during Real Madrid's summer spree in 2009, inherited Arjen Robben's No.11. Following Raul's departure in 2010, Ronaldo quickly switched to his iconic jersey number 7, prompting Benzema to take up his vacated number.
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In sharp contrast, Dani Alves has had four different jersey numbers during his time at Barcelona. Although he is mostly associated with No.2, the first shirt number allocated to the Brazilian at Camp Nou was 20. He wore the iconic number 2 for four seasons, changing it again in 2013 to pay tribute to close friend Eric Abidal, who used to don No. 22 at Barcelona. In his final season in Catalonia, Alves inherited Xavi's iconic number 6.
With shirt numbers portraying an important role in constructing a player's mindset, many footballers have thrived while wearing a particular one on their back. Similarly, players have often shown a tendency to crackle under the pressure of an iconic jersey number with some sort of history attached to it.
On that note, let's take a look at five big clubs where players have faced the wrath of cursed jersey numbers:
#5 Barcelona - jersey number 7
The Blaugrana have had a lot of iconic jersey numbers over the years. From Lionel Messi's recently vacated No.10 to the pair of 6 and 8, made famous by Xavi and Iniesta, Barcelona have a rich history with multiple jersey numbers. However, one particular jersey number sticks out as a sore thumb: No. 7.
Donned by greats like Luis Figo and Pep Guardiola, the legacy of the fabled jersey number 7 received the honor it deserved until the departure of David Villa. Following the Spaniard's exit, every single one of his successors has failed to live up to the hype.
Pedro spent his best years as a Barcelona player with jersey number 17 on his back. In a similar scenario, Philippe Coutinho amassed much better stats while playing as a number 14. While Barcelona's current number 7, Antoine Griezmann, is yet to unleash his true potential, Arda Turan suffered the worst fate amongst the lot. The Turk's career took a huge nosedive, never to recover after accepting the coveted jersey number with Barcelona.
#4 Arsenal - jersey number 9
The 'curse of jersey number 9' at the Emirates Stadium can trace its origin to the arrival of wonderkind Francis Jeffers. The English prodigy had shown some serious signs of promise at Everton and was destined for greatness at Arsenal. However, the €15.3m signing tanked hard for the Gunners, only bagging a meager 8 goals in 39 appearances. Jeffers seems to have set a precedent, with each of the following forwards failing to hit the mark.
Brazilian striker Eduardo da Silva shared a similar fate, with a career-threatening injury putting a premature end to his promising start. Even Alexander Lacazette, who was supposed to be Arsenal's marquee signing, has failed to set the stage on fire.
With a brilliant 37-goal season at Lyon on his back, the Frenchman was signed for a massive €53m in 2017. After just 65 strikes in 170 appearances for the Gunners, Lacazette's future at the club looks bleak at best now.
German sensation Lukas Podolski came closest to lifting the said curse. While the Poland-born attacker did have his moments, Podolski was largely underwhelming with respect to his immense pedigree.
All of Jose Antonio Reyes, Julio Baptista, Park Chu-young, and Lucas Perez also endured disappointing spells with the London club after opting the no.9 jersey.
Also read: 5 best players to have worn jersey number 30
#3 Milan - jersey number 9
A second entry for jersey number 9, in succession, Milan's striking options in recent years, have been substandard, to say the least. Roberto Baggio, Patrick Kluivert, and George Weah are some of the legends to have plied their trades at the San Siro with number 9 on their back.
Filippo Inzaghi proved to be the last recognized striker to have successfully carried out the legacy of the elusive jersey number. The Italian superstar spent a decade with the Rossoneri, making 300 appearances for Milan.
Alexandre Pato, the Brazilian prodigy, switched from No.7 to 9 after Inzaghi's retirement. However, Pato fell off the track almost immediately after inheriting the shirt and was shipped off to Corinthians with just four appearances as Milan's main man.
A string of mediocre players have since gone on to don the jersey number 9, including Luis Adriano, Gianluca Lapadula, Mattia Destro, Alessandro Matri, and Krzysztof Piatek. Predictable as it was, all of them failed to make any substantial impact.
However, the problem is not restricted to sub-par players being given responsibilities beyond their caliber. Renowned strikers like Fernando Torres and Gonzalo Higuain saw their already low stock downright plummet after taking on the no.9 shirt in Milan.
Moreover, Andre Silva's reputation received a huge blow as number 9 at Milan. With Olivier Giroud becoming the latest forward to be assigned to the said figure, it would be interesting to see whether the Frenchman can break the pattern or not.
#2 Manchester United - jersey number 7
Eric Cantona's acquisition by Manchester United from bitter rivals Leeds, for a nominal fee of €1.8m proved to be a stroke of genius by Sir Alex Ferguson. The French international's legacy at Old Trafford has been immortalized by his stupendous technique, the infamous fan-kicking incident, and his iconic jersey number 7.
David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo followed suit and established a 17-year-long bequest for the fabled jersey number at Manchester United. However, after Ronaldo's record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, the Red Devils have failed to adequately replace the Portuguese superstar. No player, to be associated with No. 7 has even come close to replicating Ronaldo and his predecessors' heritage.
Some of the best players of this generation have tried and failed to honor the jersey number 7 at Old Trafford. Angel Di Maria's blazing start to life in Manchester showed signs of improvement. However, his three goals and four assists in his first six games turned out to be a false positive as the Argentine was sold to PSG after a solitary season.
Micheal Owen, Memphis Depay and especially Alexis Sanchez, endured a horrid time at the club with the jersey number 7 on their back. Edinson Cavani's bit-part role as a super-sub last season is the closest anyone has ever come to matching the high standards of the shirt.
#1 Chelsea - jersey number 9
Chelsea recently initiated the return of Romelu Lukaku for a mind-boggling fee of €115m this summer. This means that the sturdy Belgian now boasts the highest cumulative transfer fee in the history of football, with a total of €327.56m. Lukaku will be taking jersey number 9, vacated by the outgoing Tammy Abraham.
Chelsea fans all around the world will be hoping that their latest record-signing does not succumb to the infamous curse that has been plaguing Stamford Bridge since early 2000s.
In the recent past, Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Radamel Falcao and Fernando Torres have been victims of the said jinx, failing miserably with the Blues.
To put things into perspective, Spanish veteran Torres has been the most prolific striker of the lot with just 45 goals in 175 appearances to show for his €58.5m price tag.
Barring the evergreen Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, every single player to have donned the doomed jersey number post-2000 has greatly underwhelmed at the club.
From Chris Sutton to the downright poor Khalid Boulahrouz, the Blues have seen multiple undeserving players flaunt their no.9 shirt. Even Hernan Crespo failed to impress the Chelsea faithful during his solitary season in London. This goes on to show that jersey number 9 might just be a cursed figure at Stamford Bridge.
Also read: 5 players who did not do justice to jersey number 10 at their clubs
