Cristiano Ronaldo has, once again, officially been given the number 7 shirt at Manchester United.
The 36-year-old joined last week from Juventus on a two-year contract, returning to the club after a 12-year hiatus.
The ‘Ronaldo 7’ shirt is likely to be highly popular among United fans delighted to welcome the Portuguese superstar back to the club.
If you’re among the supporters wanting to get your hands on a ‘Ronaldo 7’ jersey, you can now do so from the following sources:
Man Utd Online Store - store.manutd.com/
Adidas - adidas.co.uk/manchester_united
JD Sports - jdsports.co.uk/sport/football/club/manchester-united/
Sports Direct - sportsdirect.co.uk/football-shirts/premier-league/manchester-united/
At the beginning of his first United spell, Ronaldo had originally requested the #28 shirt he had worn at his boyhood club Sporting CP.
Instead, however, he received the iconic #7 shirt previously worn by club legends like George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. The rest, as they say, is history.
United, of course, aren’t just buying a top footballer, but an individual whose achievements have gone on transcend the sport.
In 2006, Ronaldo opened his own fashion boutique on the island of Madeira under the newly launched ‘CR7’ brand. A second soon followed in Lisbon.
While the nominal transfer fee United paid is a ‘bargain’ in football terms, the weekly outlay on wages ought to be considered in a fair argument.
United’s investment, however, will be offset somewhat by the impending revenue generated by shirt sales.
Are you happy with Ronaldo's shirt number? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
When Ronaldo took over Raul’s #7 shirt at Real Madrid in 2014 it became the second highest-selling shirt in the world behind Messi’s #10 at Barcelona.
Then, in 2018, following his arrival in Turin at Italian giants Juventus, it took just 24 hours for over half a million of his shirts to be sold. A number that allegedly generated somewhere in the region of over £45m in just one day.
There had been fears that Cristiano would not be able to take up the #7 shirt. The number was originally registered to Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani before the club requested special dispensation from the Premier League.
Select your strongest United XI following the transfer window using our tool:
Contingency plans were said to have been put in place to give Ronaldo the #21, recently left vacant after the departure of Daniel James.
However, the #21 shirt has now been handed to Cavani who, in what has turned out to be a stroke of good fortune, also happens to wear that particular shirt number at international level.
