Benjamin Šeško has been handed his favoured No. 30 shirt by Manchester United this season thanks to a sacrifice from one of his new teammates.
Manchester United triumphantly announced Šeško’s arrival on Saturday having beaten Newcastle United to the acquisition of the sought-after striker. Ruben Amorim was full of praise for his new €85 million (£73.5 million, $98.8 million) recruit, while United’s director of football Jason Wilcox lauded him as “one of the most exceptional young talents in world football”.
However, for all the accolades, United didn’t have a shirt number for Šeško. Fellow summer recruit Diego León had been given the No. 30 when he joined from Cerro Porteño back in July. The Paraguayan left back has since been shifted to No. 35, paving the way for Šeško to take 30.
Šeško has worn the same number since making his senior debut for Red Bull Salzburg in 2021. Those unusual digits had previously been taken by a certain Erling Haaland. Rather than intimidation, it was a source of inspiration.
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“All those small numbers like 9, 11, 7 were already used in Salzburg in the first team so I took 30,” Šeško explained. “At this point I was like, ‘I want to take Erling’s number,’ so basically that’s the only reason but now I kind of like it and it’s special.”
As a physically dominant striker who not only towers above opposition defenders but can comfortably outrun them, Šeško and Haaland are naturally paired. “Personally, I don’t think much of comparisons,” the younger man shrugged.
“We are completely different players. Erling is an absolutely world-class striker. I enjoy watching his games on TV and obviously pay attention to what he does in different situations in the game, but as I’ve already said: I am a completely different type of player.”
Confirmation of Šeško's United's shirt number comes on the same day that the club unveiled their adidas manufactured third kit for 2025–26. The design pays tribute to the famous double-winning side of 1993–94, who became just the fourth side in the 20th century to achieve the feat. Sir Alex Ferguson's side even came close to winning a domestic treble, only to be denied by Aston Villa in the League Cup final.
History of Man Utd’s No. 30 Shirt
Unlike at Salzburg, there is not a clear lineage of illustrious players to have worn the No. 30 shirt at United. Intriguingly, a glut of unassuming right backs have donned the shirt at one point or another. Wes Brown and John O’Shea would fight their way into the lower digits, while the likes of Ritchie De Laet and Guillermo Varela never quite broke into the first team.
The last player to take on the shirt—aside from León’s brief spell—was backup goalkeeper Nathan Bishop. The 25-year-old never got the chance to wear the shirt in a competitive senior fixture for United before joining Sunderland in 2023.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Benjamin Sesko's Man Utd Shirt Number Confirmed.
