Can Mbappe overcome the number 10 curse?

Pele, Maradona and Messi have in common that they are all great players and always wear the number 10. This number is also often used to distinguish the best player of a team. But there are some exceptions, such as at Real Madrid, where the numbers 7, 9 and 5 have more historical significance.

Historically, the number 7 shirt has carried the greatest responsibility in the history of Real Madrid. This is demonstrated by names such as CR7 (Ronaldo), Raul González, Emilio Butragueno, Juanito and now Vinicius. All of the above names have made history at Real Madrid. Accordingly, they have won countless titles and scored important goals.

The number 9 will also bring back fond memories for Real Madrid fans. They are legendary strikers such as Di Stefano, Ronaldo Nazario, Karim Benzema, Hugo Sanchez and Ivan Zamorano. The number 5 also has great significance for the "white vultures" with legendary names such as Fernando Redondo, Manolo Sanchís and especially Zinedine Zidane.

While the history of Real Madrid's number 10 shirt has gone through many ups and downs. Indeed, many famous names have worn this shirt at Real Madrid but have never met expectations. They are Robinho, Wesley Sneijder, Kaka, Mesut Ozil, James Rodriguez... Even though they are at the peak of their careers, when wearing Real Madrid's number 10 shirt, they all become "invisible".

We'll have to wait and see how Mbappe performs in this new number. But the data suggests it's not the easiest or most consistent number in Real Madrid's history. The Frenchman has worn numbers like 7, 14, 17 and 29 while at PSG. For France, Mbappe wore numbers 12 and 20 before settling on 10 - the number he's worn with the French national team since 2017.