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In the world of football, the number 7 is a metaphor for being the best!
Most of the time, it is the wingers who get the number 7. But in modern football, even strikers/midfielders are being assigned the same. At the end of the day, the person wearing this shirt has a lot of responsibilities to bear and he has to be one of the best within the squad.
We have seen many talents crumble under pressure after being handed with the 7 number jersey. In short, the number 7 of a particular team has to be a prolific striker/playmaker, the crowd's favorite, and mainly — consistent!
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The football realm has seen the rise and fall of many number 7s but there are only a few who have etched themselves in our memories forever.
Some of the best #7's of all time in football
#5 David Beckham
In the competitive world of football, it is an almost impossible task to not have any haters. But David Beckham is one of the few names to have achieved that feat. The former Real Madrid star has always received an equal amount of love and respect from teammates and opponents.
Beckham's presence on the pitch used to create an impact in such a way that one couldn't really say if he was playing in front of the home crowd or away. David Beckham was revered by everyone and the reason for the same was beyond his handsome looks.
The former England captain was handed the iconic jersey number 7 at Manchester United during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. The pressure on Beckham was massive, as Ferguson wanted David's teammate, Roy Keane, to wear the number 7 shirt after Eric Cantona.
Nevertheless, David Beckham lived upto the reputation and established himself as one of the best ever Manchester United players of all time.
The six-time Premier League champion has made 265 appearances in the red jersey. He has been involved in 142 goals (62 goals and 80 assists) for the club and is lauded as one of the best set-piece specialists of all time.
#4 Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko is the first name that comes to anybody's mind when they hear about Ukraine. Such has been their captain's influence at both, club and country levels.
The 2004 Ballon d'Or winner graced the iconic 7 number for his nation and AC Milan. His heroics at Milan are regarded as one of the best ever club-level performances in modern football. Shevchenko averaged 0.61 goals per match during his stint with the Italian side.
Andriy Shevchenko mastered off-the-ball movements and made the defenders suffer who found it difficult to mark him. He has been a consistent performer throughout his career and is one of the best ever number 7s in the game.
#3 George Best
George Best's bad-boy image made him quite popular among his peers and fans. However, that wasn't the only thing he was famous for. The Belfast-born striker was known for creating 'moments of magic' in almost every game that he played.
After arriving in Manchester as an amateur and beginning his professional career under club legend Matt Busby, Best moved up the ranks and is regarded as a phenomenal icon in the club's decorated history.
Here's what Manchester United's most successful manager Alex Ferguson once said about George Best:
"George was unique, the greatest talent our football ever produced – easily."
George Best played 361 times for the Red Devils in the EPL and accumulated a total of 136 goals.
#2 Raul
Raúl González Blanco. Popularly known as Raul, he is considered to be one of the greatest players to have graced the game.
He was known for his killer instincts and supreme leadership abilities. Raul was an integral part of Real Madrid's dressing room and he led the star-studded Galacticos with utmost ease. Which, otherwise, should have been a mammoth task.
Raul wore the Real Madrid #7 for 14 long years (1996-2010). His consistent displays of talent at the club and international level shot him to fame. Raul was placed second (behind Liverpool's Michael Owen) in the 2001 Ballon d'Or.
During his lengthy spell at the Bernabeu, Raul ran a goal riot and broke numerous club records in the process. Raul is the first player to have reached the 50-goal mark in the Champions League. He was also the first player to score in two Champions League finals (vs Valencia in 2000 and vs Bayer Leverkusen in 2002).
He hung his boot as Real Madrid's all-time top goal-scorer (323) and with the most appearances (741) across all competitions, until another number 7 came along to break his goalscoring record.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Inarguably the best ever player to have donned the shirt number 7 - Cristiano Ronaldo! The Portuguese superstar has achieved enough to symbolize himself with the iconic number 7. The best part is, he hasn't stopped yet!
Humorously, we can say Cristiano breaks records for fun. The same can be taken quite literally too. The Juventus forward has umpteen records under his belt.
Cristiano Ronaldo, or CR7 as he is best known as, is the only player to have finished as the league's top scorer with three different teams. The standards set by the former Real Madrid winger have put his successors under massive pressure.
Cristiano's former clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid are still struggling to fill his boots (or the shirt) since the star's departure.
The Manchester United legend and one of their best ever #7s, George Best once said:
"There have been a few players described as 'the new George Best' over the years, but this is the first time it's been a compliment to me."
Cristiano stands atop almost every goal scoring stat for both, club and country. He is considered not just as one of the best #7s but as one of the best ever footballers in the history of the sport.
Some of the records he has can sound absolutely incredulous to mere mortals:
- Across all club competitions, he has scored 674 goals and provided 229 assists in 894 games. That's an incredible average of a 1+ goal involvement per game.
- Unbelievably for Real Madrid, CR7 has scored 450 goals and laid on 132 assists in just 438 games. He has comfortably outscored Raul as Madrid's top scorer.
- He is the joint international top goal scorer with Ali Daei, having scored 5 goals in Euro 2020 to reach 109 goals for Portugal. There is no doubt he will claim the record outright. Cristiano is also the all-time top scorer in the Euros as well, with 14 goals.
- He is the top scorer in the UEFA Champions' League as well, with 134 goals. He also holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Champions' League season, with the top 3 records all his - 17 in 2013/14, 16 in 2015/16, and 15 in 2017/18.
Let us know your top five #7s in the comments section.
