Kylian Mbappe will wear the No. 9 shirt during his debut season at Real Madrid.
Mbappe’s highly-anticipated move to Madrid was confirmed in June following his Paris Saint-Germain departure, and The Athletic reported he was expected to take the No. 9 shirt.
Madrid’s No. 9 shirt had been left vacant following Karim Benzema’s move to Al Ittihad at the end of the 2022-23 season.
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Mbappe wore the No. 7 shirt at PSG and wears No. 10 for France. Vinicius Junior has been Madrid’s No. 7 since Eden Hazard’s departure last summer, while Luka Modric wears the No. 10 shirt. The Athletic reported Modric, 38, has agreed a new one-year deal to keep him at the club until 2025.
Mbappe’s shirt number confirmation comes as Madrid announced a series of number changes ahead of the new season.
Eduardo Camavinga will now wear No. 6 following Nacho’s departure, Federico Valverde has swapped 15 for the 8 shirt left vacant by Toni Kroos, Aurelien Tchouameni will take the number 14, Arda Guler has been given the 15 shirt and Jesus Vallejo will wear 18.
Benzema, Madrid’s second top scorer of all-time with 353 goals in 647 games, held the No. 9 shirt for 13 years. He is one of a number of club greats Mbappe will follow in inheriting the number.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals in 438 appearances, was No. 9 during his debut season at the club, before taking the No. 7 shirt after Raul’s departure.
Brazil striker Ronaldo also wore the number for four seasons, as did the club’s fourth all-time top scorer and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alfredo Di Stefano.
Madrid have confirmed Mbappe will be presented as a Madrid player on July 16 at the Bernabeu.
The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract to keep him at the club until 2029 and follows years of interest from the Spanish side
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