It seems Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo might be able to reclaim his famous number 7 jersey on his homecoming to Manchester United. Ronaldo has been listed under the iconic number on the Premier League website. At present, Edinson Cavani wears the No.7 shirt in the United squad. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that the Premier League have bizarrely assigned the No. 7 to both Ronaldo and Cavani on their website.
The dust around the new destination of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner finally settled on Friday after Manchester United confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Juventus to re-sign Ronaldo. The announcement on the Red Devils official website was made just hours after he was rumoured to move to Manchester City.
Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford has now started a new debate and this time it’s about the jersey number. The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward has donned the No.7 shirt most of his career. Indeed, CR7 is among the most well-known brands in the world of sports.
And while it is going to make Man United fans happy and nostalgic to see Ronaldo wearing the number, he might not be allowed to do so – even if Cavani is prepared to hand it over –due to the Premier League regulations. The rules say, “Before the commencement of each season, each club shall allocate a different shirt number to each member of its first-team squad.”
Premier League rule M.5 clearly states that Edinson Cavani must keep the No. 7 shirt for the whole season.If Cristiano Ronaldo wants the No. 7 shirt, Cavani must leave. Or United must get special dispensation from the PL board, which has never before been granted. #mufc
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) August 27, 2021
“While he remains with the club a player will retain his shirt number throughout the season for which it was allocated,” it further states.
So, for Ronaldo to take the number 7, either Cavani will have to leave the Red Devils or United will have to get a special dispensation from the Premier League board. It must be mentioned that a special dispensation has never been granted before.
At the early stage of his career, Ronaldo wore number 28 at Sporting Lisbon and it is currently available in United following Facundo Pellistri’s loan move to Alaves.
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