The best No. 7s in club football right now

Luis Figo, Raul, Bebeto, Garrincha, George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Bryan Robson - the list is endless. The No. 7 has graced the jersey of some of the most famous footballers in history, who have taken the number to an iconic level.

In some cases, like that of Manchester United, the No. 7 is an honour, a privilege and the pressures of wearing that jersey can make even the proven feet wobble.

Traditionally, the No. 7 was worn by a right-winger. However, with time, the allocation of jersey numbers in football has changed and teams are now more flexible with them. As such, the No. 7 is worn not just by a winger anymore. Instead, there is evidence of midfielders, strikers, attacking midfielders and even defensive midfielders who have donned the jersey.

Recently, after a summer of searching for replacements for the outgoing Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid handed its iconic No. 7 to Mariano, who was bought back from Lyon. The move did not go well with the fans of the club, bringing the jersey No. 7 under limelight again.

There are currently quite a lot of exceptional talent playing under this iconic jersey number. The No. 7 has often been given to the most charismatic, wily and crafty player in the team. Among all of those phenomenal talents around, we pick the five best No. 7s in club football right now:

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#5 N’golo Kante (Chelsea)

Kante

is an unconventional choice for the No. 7 jersey at Chelsea

N’golo Kante is exactly the opposite of the traditional No. 7. A defensive midfielder of the highest qualities, Kante is the Chelsea No.7. Of course, he plays as the traditional no. 6 or the 8, but he is still the best at what he does in the world.

Kante broke into the scene in the Premier League at his former club Leicester City, powering them to the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season. He used to wear the No. 14 Jersey there. He then switched over to Chelsea, put on the No. 7 shirt, and immediately won the Premier League again, in the 2016/17 season. The FA Cup followed next season.

His achievements with France are no less either, even though he does not wear the No.7 jersey there. Kante is a world champion, winning the 2018 World Cup with France. He also has numerous personal awards to his name.

With the arrival of Maurizio Sarri and Jorginho this season at Chelsea, Kante has seen himself promoted to an advanced role. So far, he has looked just as effective playing his natural game higher up in the pitch, and as a cherry on the top, also has a goal to his name already.

Kante may not be your usual No. 7, with his pressing and tacking and intense energy game, but there can be no arguing with the fact that he is one of the best No. 7s around.

#7 Fact: Kante has worn the No. 7 jersey before at SM Caen in the 13/14 season.

#4 Phillip Coutinho (Barcelona)

Coutinho could be the natural replacement for Iniesta

Coutinho joined Barcelona in January of this year and was handed the No. 14 jersey. When Arda Turan left the club, the No. 7 remained vacant and this season, Coutinho has taken up the iconic jersey.

The Brazilian has joined a famous group of Barcelona No. 7s, as the number was famously worn by Luis Figo, David Villa and Pedro before, yet Coutinho is a player very different from all of them. The Brazilian has been an instant hit since joining Nou Camp from Liverpool, scoring 10 goals from the 22 games he played in the second half of the season.

This season, rejuvenated with the honour of wearing the No.7 jersey, Coutinho has continued from where he left off last season, already scoring a goal from the 2 games he has played so far. Barcelona fans are delighted with his partnership with Messi and those two have combined very well so far.

With Iniesta’s exit this season, Coutinho will be expected to take up a chunk of the creative responsibility and the Brazilian certainly has the guile and technical expertise to prosper. His vision and passing abilities are unprecedented and he also has the knack of scoring the spectacular. Barcelona, after all these years, seems to have a magical No. 7 again.

#7 Fact: Coutinho has worn the No. 7 once before, at Internazionale in the 12/13 season.

#3 Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Mbappe has taken up the no. 7 jersey this season

The hottest teenage prospect in football and a current World Champion, Kylian Mbappe has been handed the PSG No.7 jersey this season.

Lucas Moura had been playing under this number before his move to Tottenham Hotspur last season and after his exit, Rabiot briefly filled in as the PSG No. 7. However, after a spectacular summer, which saw Mbappe win the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France, the teenage sensation has been rewarded with an upgrade from the No. 29 he played in last season

Mbappe is a traditional No. 7, blessed with pace and trickery and has been closely monitored ever since he broke through the Monaco ranks. He scored 21 goals from 44 appearances for PSG last season and at the World cup, mesmerized everyone with his cracking speed and matured finishing. He was adjudged the Best Young Player of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

This season, Mbappe does not seem to have any intentions of resting on his laurels. Starting as the No. 7 now, he already has 3 goals from 2 games he has played so far. Touted as the man to take over the mantle from Ronaldo and Messi in the near future, Mbappe could frequently be in the news this season as the PSG No. 7 aims big this year.

#7 Fact: This is the first time that Mbappe is wearing the No. 7 in his career.

#2 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

Griezmann is one of Atletico Madrid's greatest No. 7s

Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid in the 2014/15 season and has been wearing the famous No. 7 shirt ever since, following in the footsteps of Diego Forlan to become another iconic No. 7 for the club.

While playing for his country, France, Griezmann has worn either of the No. 11 or the No. 7 over the years, but since last year, has been wearing the No. 7 regularly. He won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France, while donning the No. 7.

Griezmann is not the traditional No.7 either, he plays as a striker, a withdrawn striker or an attacking midfielder. He is an extremely talented left-footed footballer, who is clinical in front of goal, but also contributes overall to the team – tracking back, tackling, winning the ball, bringing others into play and setting players up.

This has seen him win the Europa League last season and UEFA Super Cup 2018, along with the World Cup. He also has countless individual honours to his name.

Last season, Griezman scored 29 goals from 49 appearances for Atletico Madrid. The Frenchman has consistently scored more than 25 goals every season at Atletico since joining and this certainly makes him one of their greatest No. 7s ever.

This season too, Griezmann has started in style, already finding the net once from the 3 games he has played so far, and after a fantastic World Cup, is expected to shine again.

#7 Note: Griezmann also wore the No. 7 jersey at Real Sociedad for 4 seasons before joining Atletico Madrid.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo is the new Juventus No. 7

Perhaps the player who has been synonymous with the No.7 jersey over the years is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese Superstar has added to the glamour, qualities and history of the coveted No. 7 like few other players since the inception of the numbering system.

It is rumoured that when he joined Manchester United, Ronaldo wanted his old jersey number from Sporting, the No. 28. But Sir Alex Ferguson was adamant. David Beckham had recently moved to Real Madrid and the iconic No. 7 was lying vacant.

It is said that Sir Alex was confident that the lanky teenager would thrive in the jersey and commanded Ronaldo to pick up the number. The rest, as they say, is history. The Manchester United No. 7 is perhaps the hardest squad number to live up to, but Ronaldo did just that and a lot more, elevating the squad number to even higher from its already legendary standards.

As if succeeding in one No. 7 was not enough, Ronaldo took over the No. 7 from Raul at Real Madrid and reached even greater heights, winning personal and team awards consistently. Ronaldo also wears the No. 7 jersey for Portugal, taking up the mantle from the legendary Figo.

Now, he has picked up the No. 7 jersey at Juventus and while it is not the most famous in the world, there have been some fantastic players who have played under that number for the club, like Paolo Di Canio.

The stage is set for Ronaldo now, to shine at his new club and perhaps be the only player to shine as a No. 7 in three different leagues. With Cristiano Ronaldo, you know that it might just happen.

#7 Fact: Ronaldo has only worn two other numbers in his club career – the No. 28 at Sporting for the 2002/03 season and the No. 9 at Real Madrid for the 2009/10 season.