Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest player in the world to have donned the number 7 jersey. As Ronaldo returns to the Theatre of Dreams, we evaluate Manchester United players to wear the number 7 shirt subsequent to Ronaldo’s departure in 2009.
Micheal Owen
In 2009, Micheal Owen signed for Manchester United from Newcastle and was given the number 7 vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo. The ex-Liverpool forward’s controversial move to United eventuated after he failed to move back to Liverpool.
His most memorable goal in a United shirt was his late winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time against Man City at Old Trafford. Owen struggled to recall the moments immediately after the goal and said that it ranked as one of the most important in his career.
Despite being way behind in the pecking order in the entirety of his United career. He managed 17 goals in 52 games. He left the club in 2012 after United made it clear that they would not be offering him a new deal.
Antonio Valencia
Antonio Valencia also joined the Reds in 2009, and was initially given the number 25 shirt. However, after Micheal Owen departed from the club in 2012, the number 7 shirt was given to the Ecuadorian.
But, the next year he gave up the prestigious number due to a superstition. “It was more to do with the fact that 25 was the number I had when I first came to the club and I played well wearing that,” Valencia told the Daily Mirror. “So I thought, ‘Why don’t I go back to 25?’ I had good times and good fortune in that shirt.” And that is where the myth of the “cursed number 7s shirt” started.
Valencia, after another unprolific season under David Moyes, was dropped deeper into a right back/right wing-back position by new manager, Louis van Gaal. He then became a mainstay in the United defence under both Van Gaal and Mourinho and even took over the captaincy following Michael Carrick’s retirement. He struggled for fitness and form in the early stages of the 2018/19 season and the club let him leave for free at the end of the season.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria joined the Red Devils in 2014, for a transfer fee of £60 million. He started brightly, scoring three goals and four assists in his first six games. However, clashes with the manager and poor form caused issues for him. The Argentinian never looked settled during his tenure as a Manchester United player. Recently, he described it as one of the worst choices in his career.
He left United for PSG just one year after signing. “I didn’t give a f*** about the Manchester United No.7, at first they talked to me a lot about it, it was just a shirt,” Di Maria told TyC Sports in 2021.
Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay signed for United in 2015 and was given the number 7 shirt subject to his own request. He was deemed to be the next big thing, due to his exceptional skills and flashes of supreme quality.
However, he failed to remain consistent and only managed 2 goals in the Premier League. Following Jose Mourinho’s appointment, he was never given a chance and wanted to leave the club for more game time. The Dutchman joined Lyon in January 2017 for £20m.
Alexis Sanchez
The Chilean came to United in a transfer swap deal, which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal. Sanchez described that playing for United was “one of his dreams”. Ed Woodward gave him a massive £500,000 a week contract, and big things were expected from the former Arsenal catalyst.
However, Sanchez only managed 5 goals in 45 appearances for United and went on loan to Inter. He left permanently in 2019, stating that he did not regret joining United, but wished he’d been played more.
Edinson Cavani
El Matador joined United for free from PSG. He’s the player who broke the curse of the number 7 shirt, outperforming most of the previous number 7s. Edinson Cavani took English football by storm, scoring 17 goals in 39 appearances in his debut season. The Uruguayan came up when needed the most, scoring in both the legs in the Europa League semi-finals as well as the final against Villareal.
He was due to go play in South America once the 2020-21 season was over, but decided to extend his contract by 1 year. As Cristiano Ronaldo joins Manchester United, Cavani will take the number 21 shirt vacated by the departure of Daniel James.
