Real Madrid award Vinicius Junior legendary shirt number
By Tom Gott
Vinicius Junior has been handed the number 7 shirt at Real Madrid after it was vacated by Eden Hazard.
Hazard agreed to the mutual termination of his contract earlier this summer, 12 months before it had been due to expire, after a dramatic fall down the pecking order saw him handed just ten appearances and four starts across all competitions last season.
With the number 7 shirt now free, Vinicius has been upgraded from his previous number of 20 as a reward for his emergence as one of the game's elite wingers.
Vinicius bagged 23 goals and racked up a further 21 assists last season and now follows the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul in sporting the famous 7 shirt at the Santiago Bernabeu.
His previous shirt number, 20, has been given to new left-back Fran Garcia, who has rejoined the club from Rayo Vallecano.
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Vinicius is not the only player getting a shirt number upgrade as fellow Brazilian forward Rodrygo is moving from 21 to 11.
The 11 shirt was last worn by Marco Asensio, who departed on a free transfer this summer and is expected to join Paris Saint-Germain, while Gareth Bale also wore the shirt during his six years in Spain.
Rodrygo has been slowly moving up the ranks in Real's shirt numbers. He initially took 27 when he joined in 2019 but was moved up to 25 shortly after and took his previous number of 21 ahead of the 2021/22 season.
He's now up to 11 - a sign of Real's commitment after an excellent individual campaign which yielded 19 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
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