Why do so many footballers covet the No 10 shirt?

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This article is part of our Kitted Out series, an exploration of the impact of soccer apparel on culture and fashion.

These days, everybody is encouraged to grow their personal brand. Popping out to get some milk? Corner shops go viral now. Want to see the day in the life of a dentist? No problem. In American college sports (NCAA), they call it name, image and likeness (NIL).

When it comes to branding in football, the No 10 shirt is becoming a sought-after key to prominence. Or, for some, a way to imitate the greatest player to have ever played.

This has been evident this summer, with some of the game’s youngest stars changing to their clubs’ No 10 jersey. Cole Palmer and Jamal Musiala have both switched already, while the Real Madrid No 10 will be vacated by Luka Modric’s imminent departure to Italian side Milan, which could see Kylian Mbappe follow suit at the Bernabeu. At Barcelona, Lamine Yamal could take the shirt after Ansu Fati left on loan to Monaco.

Palmer has switched to Chelsea’s No 10 shirt this summer (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Daniel Sandison, head of marketing at football boot manufacturer Sokito, tells The Athletic: “Personal branding is more important than ever. It probably gets 10 to 15 per cent more important every year.

“Most of the players at the top level want to have a YouTube channel like (Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude) Bellingham, want to have a number that reflects their personalities.”

Sandison points out Palmer’s shivering goal celebration as another example, with the Chelsea forward seeking to trademark it with the UK Intellectual Property Office in January, according to legal firm Knights plc. Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) has his shirt number heavily tied into his brand.

Sandison continues: “All of the people around footballers encourage personal branding because it creates wealth, it creates jobs for people and it allows communities to tap into football that maybe were locked out previously, so it’s massively important.”

Being your team’s No 10 clearly means something in branding terms, but football-wise it is even more important.

New Manchester United signing Matheus Cunha told club media what the shirt meant to him. “Wow, it’s something that you always dream about,” he said of becoming United’s No 10 earlier this summer.

“Of course I think the one that I always think about when I see this number in this shirt for me was Wayne Rooney… then I swapped shirts with Marcus (Rashford, who was the club’s No 10 until the end of last season) … but of course, we know many players used this shirt — Ruud van Nistelrooy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic…

“It’s the dream not only to use the shirt but with all the history they have around the number. It’s something beautiful that I have the privilege to do it.”

Cunha has taken over United’s No 10 shirt (Manchester United/Getty Images)

Cunha is Brazilian, and the No 10 began to gain mystique there in South America way before social media came along, after being worn by legends such as Pele and Diego Maradona. European greats Ferenc Puskas and Zinedine Zidane have helped build its prestige too. The classic archetype has been less prominent in Spain, a nation more inclined towards No 4s, 6s and 8s (see Xavi and Andres Iniesta), Portugal, proficient in producing star wingers, and Germany, where teams used to deploy No 10s in the sweeper role.

Classic No 10s usually played behind the striker in an attacking midfield role, as a team’s most creative player.

As The Athletic’s Michael Cox wrote a few years ago, while they may have faded from the modern game, the increased prominence of false nines, wide players who can drift inside and deep-lying playmakers means that, rather than there being no players who can reasonably wear No 10, there are actually more candidates than ever.

It is a shirt that has often represented the passing of the torch, like at Barcelona when the number was handed down from Ronaldinho to Lionel Messi. Receiving the shirt can build high expectations and create disappointment, though, such as Ansu Fati’s succession of Messi. Fati was hailed to be Barcelona’s next big prospect when given the No 10 in the 2021-22 season, but went on to have a largely underwhelming career with the club and was recently farmed out on loan to Monaco of France’s top-flight Ligue 1.

“I think as a player, it’s kind of affixing yourself to that playmaker role: ‘I’m the guy, everything’s going to come through me. I’m going to create. The same way Maradona and Messi did’,” says Sandison, who works closely with Sokito athletes and investors, including Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina and USMNT player DeAndre Yedlin.

Messi’s sacred Barcelona shirt (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Yamal succeeding Fati as Barca No 10 would make sense as, despite being a winger, he has already proved himself worthy of the shirt after winning the European Championship with Spain a year ago and his second Spanish title last season at 17. He was Barcelona’s chief creator in that La Liga league campaign (13 assists) and also for Spain at Euro 2024 (four).

Yamal tries to avoid Messi comparisons, but the now Inter Miami forward has a wide-reaching legacy in the sport and has left his mark on the No 10 shirt.

“I think it’s (No 10) just seen as the most important player, because the best player in the world has worn it for such a long time,” Sandison says. “What he (Messi) did to reinvent that goal scorer/creator role is what these players want to be. They want lots of the ball. They want stuff to come through them.

“Using a basketball reference, the kids were doing everything to ‘Be like Mike (Michael Jordan)’ in the ’90s, they were wearing his shoes, they wanted his number (23). It’s mimicking Messi, they’re like, ‘I want to be like that guy’ and what better way to do that than wear his number?”.

If not Messi, then one of the host of other legends who have had the No 10 shirt.

Your favourite player’s favourite player is likely to have worn it, and so the cycle continues.

(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Demetrius Robinson) 

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