What's in a number? Well, when it comes to football, quite a lot.
Some numbers have a position or role attached to them. See the No.10, or course, but also the No.6, No.8 and No.9, which all have significance. The No.1 shirt is an important signifier for a goalkeeper – while it's odd to have full-backs who don't have No.2 and No.3 for right and left, respectively.
Some numbers, however, become famous for who who them. Here's every player to have made a number footballing folklore – don't worry though, we're not doing every number from 1-99…
No.1: Lev Yashin
Whoever you grow up with will come to define the No.1 shirt, really. Whether that's Gordon Banks, Peter Schmeichel or Alisson, since most goalkeepers wear it, it's very difficult to stand out with it.
Argentina used to assign the No.1 shirt to outfielders at World Cups but for our first pick, we're a dedicated follower of Yashin. The Black Spider was an iconic player without the shirt anyway – but that No.1 looked extra cool on his back. He was an inspiration to other keepers, too.
No.2: Cafu
Again, it's hard to say who has done the most for the number. But for our money, it's probably Cafu.
Well, the No.2 is most associated with right-backs rather than individual players. Cafu may or may not be the single-greatest right-back in the history of the game but for a generation, he became the most iconic, bombing up and down the wing, playing with as much intensity with or without the ball.
This could have gone to Dani Alves for similar reasons but given how he's worn the No.22, No.10 and even the No.8, it's Cafu's.
No.3: Paolo Maldini
Ashley Cole, Roberto Carlos and Gerard Pique are just three left-backs who could've claimed this crown. But we've gone with Paolo Maldini.
Put it this way: the number has been retired at Milan and won't be given to another player unless they're a Maldini, following from Paolo and father Cesare's success at the San Siro. He's one of the greatest defenders to ever live.
No.4: Pep Guardiola
Before he was one of the greatest managers in the game, he was one of the greatest No.4s. The Catalan wore the shirt with distinction at Barcelona – so much so that other midfielders would take note: including a young Cesc Fabregas, who idolised Pep.
Nwankwo Kanu, Ivan Perisic and Patrick Vieira have all been outstanding No.4s – but we've got to give it to the general himself.
No.5: Zinedine Zidane
Kylian Mbappe was being rumoured to be given the No.5 should he have signed for Real Madrid last season – all because Zinedine Zidane wore it for Los Blancos.
Plenty of centre-backs have had the number and in South America, it's a big choice of the defensive midfielder. But creators had virtually never chosen this shirt until Zizou did – and every one that ever will, will do so because of him. Props to Milan Baros, too.
No.6: Bobby Moore
Sorry, Xavi. The Barcelona legend has done more in modern times for the No.6, while the likes of Thiago and Paul Pogba have both worn the number most recently – but nothing comes close to Bobby.
The No.6 lifting the Jules Rimet in '66 is an icon for the ages. The number appears on remake shirts and it's a digit that has heritage in every British defender since.
No.7: Cristiano Ronaldo
When George Best first wore the No.7 shirt, he created a legend at Old Trafford. So many great No.7s over the years, such as Eric Cantona and David Beckham, did their part for the number. Cristiano Ronaldo originally didn't want it weighing heavily on his back, favouring his Sporting shirt, No.28 when he came to Manchester United.
But it's his now and has been since. There were plenty of famous No.7s before but now, it's a must-have shirt at any club. Raul, Becks, Luis Figo and Kenny Dalglish could all have taken our pick as the most iconic No.7 – but it has to be CR7 himself.
No.8: Andres Iniesta
Andres Iniesta wore No.8 for Barcelona because Xavi wore it for Spain and vice versa. The likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have helped to make this number special in the last 20 years… but it feels like Iniesta's.
When the great left Barça, there were shirts with his number turned on its side to look like an infinity symbol. Now when we think of the best player to ever play in the position, we think of this little genius – so it's only right that he's the most iconic player to wear the shirt.
No.9: Ronaldo
Name any striker and they're probably an iconic No.9. Alan Shearer, Marco van Basten, Gabriel Batistuta, George Weah, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bobby Charlton, Ian Rush… they all pale in comparison.
The number is so synonymous with Ronaldo that when Cristiano came along, they called the original guy R9. He's possibly the greatest striker ever, too.
No.10: Pele
Diego Maradona wore the No.10. Lionel Messi, Dennis Bergkamp, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Luka Modric, Mesut Ozil, Francesco Totti and Ronaldinho. But the original is still the best.
If Pele had worn another number, who knows what the folklore of this number would look like? Probably the first player to be described as the greatest of all time, the artistry and brilliance of the shirt is rooted in what Pele did wearing it in 1958, '62 and '70.
No.11: Romario
The No.11 is a strange one. Typically, it's the last player to be numbered, naturally a left-winger; when Alf Ramsey first named his wingless wonders and put the No.21, Roger Hunt, up front, it caused confusion and excitement alike.
But though the No.11 is either a winger not good enough to be No.7 or a striker not good enough to be No.9 or 10, there have been plenty of top-class No.11s over the years. Ryan Giggs made the digit his own in the Premier League but we've gone for Romario: probably the inspiration for Ronaldinho getting to be No.11 in 2002 and Neymar at Barcelona, among many, many others.
No.12: Marco van Basten
The No.12 is another odd one. It's perhaps most famously, actually, assigned to the fans as a 12th man. Thierry Henry wore the No.12 for France – and would've probably have made it iconic for Arsenal too, had Christopher Wreh not had it when Titi joined the Gunners.
But really, Thierry only wanted the No.12 because his idol, Marco van Basten, wore it for the Netherlands. There haven't been many No.12s with his charisma – though perhaps in the years that follow Marcelo, others will want to wear it to emulate the left-back…
No.13: Gerd Muller
In England, the No.13 tends to be a back-up goalkeeper – in Germany, it's a heritage number.
Gerd Muller wore it first, breaking so many records a lot along the way. In the years since, Michael Ballack and Thomas Muller have born worn it for Germany. It all stems from Die Bomber.
No.14: Thierry Henry/Johan Cruyff
Thierry Henry made the No.14 a prestigious shirt at Arsenal during his eight years in north London, to the point where every player with the shirt since has been a pacy forward looking up to him. The number has become associated with the Frenchman and it's a hell of a lot cooler since his time in the Premier League.
But… Johan Cruyff. It was Cruyff who made the number cool first for completely different reasons. And even then Cruyff didn't actually wear the digit often, since rules ensured 1-11 had to be worn at Barça – and it's still part of his image.
We can't separate them.
No.15: Sunday Oliseh
Unless you particularly associate the No.15 with Nemanja Vidic or Daniel Sturridge, it has to be Nigeria legend, Sunday Oliseh, who donned the top at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
No.16: Roy Keane
When Michael Carrick signed for Manchester United, he took the vacant No.16 shirt. It's not that big a deal at some clubs – but it is at Old Trafford.
Daniele De Rossi wore the number at Roma with distinction but there's no greater wearer than Roy Keane. Kids of the 90s still associate the shirt with the big man.
No.17: Kevin De Bruyne
The No.17 shirt used to be a top that players would wear before getting the No.7 shirt. Cristiano Ronaldo took it at Euro 2004, with Luis Figo ahead of him. Alexis Sanchez did the same at Arsenal with Tomas Rosicky holding onto the shirt, while Eden Hazard moved from his No.17 shirt to a No.10 at Chelsea.
Perhaps Kevin De Bruyne suspected he'd do the same when he signed for Manchester City, only for Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling to have the 10 and 7 respectively. But KDB has made it his. The No.10 came up and Grealish got it instead: it's unlikely that the Belgian will take Sterling's digit either, should the England man leave. Times have changed. The No.17 is cool now, thanks to this guy.
No.18: Paul Scholes
Manchester United had such a deep squad in the 90s that they started putting ones in front of ordinary squad numbers. Keano could've worn the No.6 – but had the No.16. Dwight Yorke was a No.9 with No.19 on his back.
Paul Scholes took the No.18 and ever since, he's been the most iconic player to wear it. Ironic that he didn't care about his number when he came out of retirement, taking the vacant No.22 instead.
No.19: Paul Gascoigne
Back in the day, players would wear 1-11. Certainly, England stars would. Paul Gascoigne was the first of a generation to make the No.19 iconic.
Gazza's sumptuous Italia 90 performances came with the number on his back, despite the Geordie genius getting No.8 at Euro 96. Whether it was worn by Santi Cazorla, Leroy Sané, Mario Gotze or Lionel Messi himself, there's always been a mercurial streak about most No.19s since.
No.20: Michael Owen
Michael Owen was just 18 years old at 1998's World Cup – younger than his daughter Gemma when she entered the Love Island villa. He wore the No.20, continuing that wonderful 90s trend of adding 10 to established squad number.
The teenager lit up the tournament with the digit. Phil Foden having the shirt certainly evoked memories at the Euros, while Dele Alli owes the mystique of his Spurs shirt to the tournament that turned Owen into a national hero.
No.21: Andrea Pirlo
Frenkie De Jong has worn the No.21 shirt and looked cool doing so – but not like Andrea Pirlo has.
The revered regista's shirt number is just another aspect of his image that has made him one of the most beloved footballers ever. There's no real reason to be No.21: it's just cool. It's just typically Pirlo.
No.22: Kaka
Kaka failed to become a legend at Real Madrid for one reason: they gave him the No.8 shirt and not the No.22 that he'd made iconic at AC Milan.
How else do you explain it? After all Jude Bellingham is going from strength to strength at Dortmund with the number after having it retired for him at Birmingham. He may well become the most iconic player to ever wear it one day – but for now, it's Kaka… who incidentally had the No.23 while in the 2002 World Cup squad for Brazil.
No.23: David Beckham
Raul had the No.7 had Real Madrid when David Beckham joined. That was his brand – but unlike Cristiano Ronaldo, who opted for the No.9 and waiting a year, Becks had other ideas.
The England captain swiped the No.23, worn by NBA star Michael Jordan. It became synonymous with Beckham to the point where he wore the digit for LA Galaxy, before wearing the No.32 – the number reverse, obvs – later in his career.
No.24: Lorenzo Insigne
The greatest-ever No.24? Gary Cahill might have something to say – but it's probably Lorenzo Insigne.
The Napoli icon will forever be associated with the number in southern Italy. It's not got the glamour of the No.10 – that the club retired in honour of Diego Maradona – but there's a quirky charm.
No.25: Nwankwo Kanu
Gianfranco Zola wore the No.25 for Chelsea and made it iconic. But we're going for another late 90s Prem star.
Kanu was the No.25 in English football – for Arsenal, later West Brom, though he had to take the No.27 at Portsmouth. Emmanuel Adebayor wore the same number in tribute to his fellow African striker – weirdly, both wore No.4 for their countries, too.
No.26: John Terry
Riyad Mahrez is probably seething, reading this. Still, It has to be John Terry, who took the "add 10" rule to another level by adding 20 to the ordinary No.6.
Chelsea youngster Levi Colwill chose to wear the number for Huddersfield on loan, while in his last game, Terry was carried off by teammates on the 26th minute. His idea but still.
No.27: David Alaba
La Liga rules prevent David Alaba taking the No.27 at Real Madrid while there's a No.4 free. It's a shame because he looked class as anything with a two and seven on his back in Bavaria.
It's a cool tradition, actually, that Bayern had. If you were a youngster with a big number on your back, you kept it and made it your own. Now, Gnabry and Kimmich have upgraded their numbers and ruined a nice thing. Here's hoping Jamal Musiala sticks with the No.42.
No.28: Steven Gerrard
We could have picked Stevie Gerrard for No.8 or No.17, to be fair. He's been iconic with every number he's had.
But the No.28 stood out when he first burst into the team. No one with his swagger has had the number since – though Cesar Azpilicueta is probably wondering what he had to do to get on this list.
No.29: Kylian Mbappe
When FIFA created story mode The Journey, principle character Alex Hunter was given the No.29 shirt. It was as much a reflection of the rise to the top that Kylian Mbappe would enjoy, taking his shirt from Monaco to PSG with him.
The top has become property of wonderkids since, Matteo Guendouzi and Kai Havertz both taking the shirt, the latter keeping his digits from Leverkusen when he moved to Chelsea. We can't explain it but any number ending in a seven or nine is cool.
No.30: Lionel Messi
Who else would it be: Steve Mandanda?
In case you're wondering Lionel Messi apparently originally had the No.30 jersey at Barcelona because Ronaldinho was No.10 and Deco was No.20: the three big playmakers all a multiple of 10. When PSG signed the little genius with a squad already stacked in 2021, however, there was only one number he was going to take. He's made it just as recognisable as he did first time around.
No.31: Bastien Schweinsteiger
Now it's getting to slim pickings. It was Schweini or Nemanja Matic.
Bastien Schweinsteiger, however is another example of a Bayern product who kept his original number and made it his own – to the point where he wore it for Manchester United and Chicago Fire, too.
No.32: Carlos Tevez
Arguably the greatest No.32 in the history of the Premier League, Carlos Tevez wore the jersey for West Ham and both Manchester United and Manchester City.
He also wore the number for Boca Juniors a couple of seasons and Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He's not tied to the number like some players – but he's certainly the one most of us think of.
Right, we're going to have to start skipping digits, now…
No.34: Abdelhak Nouri
In 2017, aged just 20 years old, Nouri Abdelhak collapsed in a preseason friendly, suffering a cardiac arrhythmia attack. He was left with severe and permanent brain damage, unable to continue his career as a footballer.
Although his No.34 was never officially retired, Ajax have not given it to another player since. The likes of Justin Kluivert, Philippe Sandler, Amin Younes, Kevin Diks, Joel Veltman, Donny van de Beek, Sofyan Amrabat and Anwar El Ghazi who all played with Nouri have all worn his shirt number in tribute to him since.
The No.34 is now his – and it's touching to see so many remember him so dearly wth the gesture.
No.37: Adama Traore
No, we have no idea why it works. It just does. Adama Traore's Wolves spell is one for the ages, wherever he goes next – and the No.37 looked immense on his back.
Milan Skrinriar, Leonardo Spinazzola and Roberto Pereyra all wore it, too, looking great. Jari Litmanen had it at Liverpool. But it's Adama's, for us.
No.39: Marcus Rashford
Gosh, did Marcus Rashford look great as a No.39. Eventually he was upgraded to the No.19 before receiving the No.10 – but real ones remember him best for bursting onto the scene with the high digits.
Scott McTominay now has the number for United. It's not as cool as it was when Rashford had it.
No.41: Declan Rice
We can probably safely call him the greatest No.41 ever. Declan Rice has suggested he might keep this number forever, putting a twist on the old "add a one to the front of your desired number" by putting a one after it.
It shouldn't work – but it works for him.
No.42: Yaya Toure
The No.42 was significant in the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy as the answer to the meaning of life. It certainly was for Manchester City fans.
Yaya Toure wanted the No.24 when he first rocked up at Eastlands, only to be denied because fellow all-action midfielder Patrick Vieira had it (remember Pat at City?). Instead, Yaya took the reverse option and made it legendary.
No.45: Mario Balotelli
Apparently, Super Mario took the No.45 because the digits added up to nine, the number he really wanted. In another life, he could have been 36, 69, 72, 27, 81, 18, 90… you get the picture.
But weirdly, No.45 suited him. Picture the shirt and you picture Balotelli, who wore it at Inter, Manchester City and Liverpool – yes, that happened. Shame he could never wear it for Italy.
No.47: Phil Foden
Another City star. The fact that Phil Foden didn't get the No.10 when Sergio Aguero left suggests he might never upgrade his No.47.
Once again, it's adding a multiple of 10 to a cool number – seven – and getting something that still, somehow, works. It's associated with the boy wonder himself, now.
No.52: Nicklas Bendtner
The Lord himself has worn a few numbers in his time. Nicklas Bendtner did have the No.26 for Arsenal, actually, before doubling it to steal the No.52.
The B-52 even offered to refund any fan who'd bought the wrong shirt the summer that he took a new jersey. Not that he may have had to – according to myth, Juventus didn't sell a single shirt with the great Dane's name on when he was there for the season on loan.
No.66: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Even though he's the first-choice right-back at Liverpool now, one of the best in the world and perhaps the only full-back who could lay claim to the No.7 or No.10 as well as the No.2, Trent Alexander-Arnold still has two fat ladies on his back.
Trent himself has said he's not sure if he'll ever get rid of the No.66, the number he'd had his entire Reds career. It's certainly strange having two full-backs at Anfield with No.26 and No.66 on their backs rather than No.2 and No.3.
No.69: Bixente Lizarazu
No sniggering. World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu wore the squad No.69 at Bayern Munich as he was born in 1969, measured 169cm and weighed 69kg.
It wasn't his first number at Bayern – he took the No.3 before going to Marseille and coming back – but who remembers that?
No.80: Ronaldinho
Only he could get away with it, couldn't he? Ronaldinho took the rule of wearing a multiple of 10 when he played for AC Milan.
But that's not exactly why he wore it. Mathieu Flamini took the No.84 when he joined, as that was he birth year; Andriy Shevchenko re-signed and found his old number was taken, so plumped for the No.76. Ronnie went with No.80 for the same reason – but since he's the only one anyone remembers that fondly, he's the only one on our list.
No.99: Vitor Baia
When Vitor Baia joined Porto from Barcelona in 1999, he took the shirt number of the year, No.99. Sales were impressive, too.
In 2004, he became the first player to wear the number in the final of a major European competition. So while Ronaldo took the No.99 when he joined AC Milan – making him R99 – we're still going for Baia for the best.
No.1+8: Ivan Zamorano (Honourable Mention)
Yes, he really did that. Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano wanted the no.9 at Inter but it was taken – so he wore the No.18 and put a tiny "+" symbol in the middle, like a South American Ed Sheeran.
Ingenious or too silly? We still can't decide two decades on.
