Cristiano Ronaldo wears the number seven shirt at Manchester United currently. The Portuguese superstar started his career at Sporting Lisbon and then moved to Manchester United to continue his journey with football in England.
After spending a number of years in England, Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid and broke all the records during his time in Spain. He always wore the legendary shirt number 7 at the Santiago Bernabeu and went on to pick it up when he was grabbed by Juventus in the 2018-19 season.
He came back to Manchester United last summer and reclaimed his number 7 jersey from Edinson Cavani and is still in the possession of the jersey as of now.
The 37 year old also has been wearing the number 7 for the Portugal national team
Cristiano Ronaldo jersey number: The reason behind the number 7 jersey
Cristiano Ronaldo started with the number 28 at his childhood club and only after his transfer to Manchester United he was handed the famous number seven by the then manager sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo followed the footsteps of David Beckham, Eric Cantona, George Best and Bryan Robson who proudly flaunted the number 7 shirt during their stay at the club. After Cristiano Ronaldo a number of players with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Michael Owen and Angel di Maria tried to emulate his legacy but they failed pretty miserably as none of them could really live up to the expectations.
Ronaldo went on to be establish his authority pretty big as he scored 124 goals in his first stint with the Premier League giants. He also lifted three Premier League titles, one Champions League and two League Cups.
Real Madrid paid a world record transfer fee at that time to acquire the forward and handed him the unconventional number nine jersey as former Real Madrid forward Raul was at the helm of the shirt number 7.
Ronaldo inherited the number 7 in the following season and the rest was history. The Portugal international wasn’t very successful when it came to the La Liga title but he proved his mettle in the Champions League. Ronaldo picked up the UEFA Champions League title a staggering four times including three consecutive times.
Madrid tried to fill the void by securing the service of former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard but the Belgium has been a big flop in Madrid so far as he hasn’t been at his best since he arrived in Spain.
Ronaldo then moved to Italy as Juventus paved the way for him to stamp his excellence on the Italian soil. He was given the number 7 jersey again it became a synonymous with his name. It took him very little time to prove his goal scoring skills as the Portuguese superstar led Juventus to two Serie A titles, two Italian Super Cup and one Italian Cup title during his three year stay in Turin.
He then stamped a famous return to Manchester United last season and proved to be the difference between Manchester United and the other teams as the Red Devils sealed a sixth place finish in the Premier League.
Ronaldo took the iconic no 7 shirt from Edinson Cavani who was pretty unselfish to leave the jersey number for the Portuguese in an incredible gesture. But it was never easy as the prolific striker had already been registered with the number 7 jersey in the Premier League.
United requested the Premier League board to approve a special permission for this occasion and Ronaldo finally had the chance to join the first team squad wearing the iconic number 7 shirt.
He is definitely one of the club icons whose influence cannot be ignored at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo jersey number: History
Club | Season | Jersey No |
2002-03 | Sporting Lisbon | 28 |
2003-04 | Manchester United | 7 |
2004-05 | Manchester United | 7 |
2005-06 | Manchester United | 7 |
2006-07 | Manchester United | 7 |
2007-08 | Manchester United | 7 |
2008-09 | Manchester United | 7 |
2009-10 | Real Madrid | 9 |
2010-11 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2011-12 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2012-13 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2013-14 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2014-15 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2015-16 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2016-17 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2017-18 | Real Madrid | 7 |
2018-19 | Juventus | 7 |
2019-20 | Juventus | 7 |
2020-21 | Juventus | 7 |
2021-22 | Manchester United | 7 |
FAQs
What is Cristiano Ronaldo’s old jersey number?
Cristiano Ronaldo used to wear the number 7 jersey at Juventus
What is the history of Cristiano Ronaldo jersey number?
Cristiano Ronaldo has worn a number of jersey but the number 7 has been his favourite