Now that Cristiano Ronaldo‘s return to Manchester United has been confirmed, the story has moved on to where he might fit into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s system, whether his arrival has made his new team title favourites and most importantly, what shirt number he will wear.
On the face of it, there can only be one option for a man who has cultivated his “CR7” brand around the number seven, which he has worn throughout his career during his first spell at United, the bulk of his nine years at Real Madrid, his three seasons at Juventus and in well over a decade for the Portuguese national team.
The problem that Ronaldo has, as he encountered when joining Real Madrid in 2009 in Raul’s final season, is that the number seven shirt is currently occupied by somebody else.
Edinson Cavani was handed United’s iconic No 7 shirt – famously worn with distinction by George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Ronaldo himself – after signing from PSG last summer and held onto it after agreeing a 12 month contract extension.
Rio Ferdinand, a former teammate of Ronaldo at United, initially suggested that Cavani could relinquish the number to allow his new teammate to have it. “Cavani, I have to say, what a man! He saw who was coming to town and gave up the No.7 shirt,” said Ferdinand on his FIVE YouTube channel.
However, that prospect appears to be unlikely due to Premier League rules. Section M of the Premier League’s handbook states: “While he remains with the Club a Player will retain his shirt number throughout the Season for which it was allocated.”
The only way that Ronaldo would be able to take the No.7 shirt, therefore, is if Cavani leaves the club before the transfer deadline on Tuesday, which seems extremely unlikely to happen.
During the 2016-17 campaign, Andros Townsend was able to swap his No.17 shirt at Crystal Palace to the No.10 after the season had already commenced but only after Yannick Bolasie, who had previously worn the number, had been sold to Everton.
Premier League rules:
Section M: Players’ Identification and Strip
Before the commencement of each Season each Club shall allocate a different shirt number to each member of its first team squad.
A Club shall likewise allocate a shirt number to any Player joining its first team squad during the Season.
Save with the prior written consent of the Board shirt numbers shall commence with the number one and shall be allocated consecutively.
While he remains with the Club a Player will retain his shirt number throughout the Season for which it was allocated.
Upon a Player leaving a Club the shirt number allocated to him may be re-allocated.
United may ask for special dispensation from the Premier League to change their shirt numbers, but there has is no precedent for that being allowed before.
Vacant numbers available to Ronaldo include 12, 15, 24 and 28, the latter of which was his number during his first season as a professional with Sporting Lisbon.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/38nztWW
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