Actual Madrid have formally handed the legendary quantity 10 shirt to Kylian Mbappe, a transfer that appears like the start of a brand new period within the Spanish capital.
The reveal got here quietly however powerfully. Final week, Mbappe posted a easy “10” on X with no pictures or clarification.
That was all it took for followers and pundits alike to attach the dots. On Tuesday, Actual Madrid made it official by updating their squad listing on the membership’s web site, confirming the 26-year-old as their new No.10.
The shirt of legends
Throughout his first season in La Liga, Mbappe wore the No.9 as Luka Modric retained the ten he had owned for over a decade.
With Modric departing to affix AC Milan on the finish of his contract, the well-known quantity was freed up – and Madrid wasted no time providing it to their talisman.
The No.10 shirt has a wealthy historical past at Actual Madrid, beforehand worn by stars similar to Luis Figo, James Rodriguez, Mesut Ozil, Robinho, and most not too long ago, Modric.
A well-known position for France’s captain
Whereas Mbappe hasn’t persistently worn the quantity 10 in membership soccer, the shirt may be very a lot part of his identification at worldwide degree.
For France, he has led the assault carrying 10 and he did have a style of the quantity briefly throughout his early profession at Monaco, however that is the primary time he’ll put on it full-time at membership degree.
The expectation now could be for Mbappe to embrace the shirt very like Zinedine Zidane and Luka Modric earlier than him.
A business energy play
This resolution is as a lot about enterprise as it’s about soccer. Actual Madrid are making ready to formally unveil the brand new package within the coming days, with insiders already predicting record-breaking demand.
When Mbappe first signed and was given the No.9 shirt, demand for jerseys was so intense that Adidas was compelled to delay deliveries by weeks.
With the quantity 10’s status and Mbappe’s star energy now mixed, the surge in orders might eclipse these figures.