Real Madrid have announced that Vinicius Junior will wear the iconic number 7 for Real Madrid next season following the departure of Eden Hazard, the club confirmed on Monday.
Previously worn by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Gonzalez, Emilio Butragueno, Juanito and many more, Vinicius, who previously wore the number 20, is now set to wear the iconic number.
Madrid have also announced that Rodrygo Goes, who used to wear number 21, will be wearing number 11 after the departure of Marco Asensio.
Madrid’s number 11 was previously worn by Gareth Bale. The Welshmen won five UCL titles with Madrid and scored three goals in four UCL finals as well.
Hazard wore Madrid’s No 7 when he arrived at the Spanish capital in June 2019. He played 76 games for the Los Blancos in four years. Before Hazard, it was Mariano Diaz who wore the number for one season in 2018/19.
Cristiano Ronaldo wore the number 7 for eight seasons for The Royal Whites from 2009 to 2018.
He became the club’s top scorer having scored 450 goals in 438 games while also winning two league and four UEFA Champions League (UCL) titles.
Raul was Madrid’s number seven before he left the club in 2010, he scored 323 goals wearing the Royal White and is now the third all-time top scorer in the club’s history.
Vinicius’ previous number 20 is now given to Fran Garcia, who Madrid introduced their first signing of the summer in an event at their training ground Monday.
"It's a dream that I've been chasing," said Garcia, a Madrid academy product who returns after spending three years at Rayo Vallecano.
"My dream was to come back, and I'm happy to have the opportunity... The [January transfer] market was busy and there was interest [from Bayer Leverkusen], but in the end, Madrid had the option to bring me back, and I'm happy with how it turned out."
It must be noted that Madrid’s number 9 is also vacant after the departure of legendary striker Karim Benzema.