Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United from Sporting CP marked the start of a new era. The Portuguese superstar has gone on to establish his authority as one of the most legendary figures in modern football.
The 39 year old recently breached the 900-goal barrier and has been a growing influence around the world. CR7 as how he is fondly known, Ronaldo is very synonymous with the number 7 jersey.
He was handed the famous number 7 jersey at Manchester United and since then he has made the number ‘7’ very synonymous with his name. But it could have been a very different story.
Upon his £12 million transfer from Sporting CP, Ronaldo had requested the no. 28 shirt as he had worn the jersey at Sporting Lisbon. Ronaldo had jitters about the number 7 jersey but it was Sir Alex Ferguson who convinced the player to follow the path of Eric Cantona, Geroge Best and David Beckham.
Ronaldo admitted he didn’t have conviction before wearing the number 7 jersey. “I was petrified. Ronaldo admitted later, reflecting on his initial apprehension. I knew Beckham wore that shirt. But I took on the challenge and since then it has been my lucky number.”
Ronaldo not only did excel brilliantly in the number 7 shirt, but he also turned out to be the most iconic player ever to don the No. 7 shirt. He has since then worn the number at Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
The Portuguese star also gets to wear the jersey for his national team and he has lived up to the expectations as he is currently Portugal’s top scorer and also holds the most appearances for Portugal.
His retirement has been the subject of debate but the player hasn’t stopped scoring goals. He scored both the winners in Portugal’s last two UEFA Nations League games and is expected to play for a longer time as it stands.