Most Popular Football Jersey Numbers: 2022 Update

When Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Juventus in 2018, he reportedly paid a teammate to give up the No. 7 shirt. That’s what these numbers are worth to the players who wear them. No. 10 means creative genius, No. 9 means goals, No. 1 means the last line of defense before the net. Decades of specific players wearing specific numbers built those meanings, and even now, when squad numbering has loosened the old rules, the associations haven’t gone anywhere.

A brief history of football numbering

Before the 1990s, most leagues used fixed positional numbers. The goalkeeper wore 1, the right-back wore 2, the striker wore 9, and the creative midfielder behind the forwards wore 10. Anyone in the stands could read a team’s shape just from the numbers on their backs.

Squad numbering, where a player keeps one number for a season regardless of position, became standard in England starting in 1993 and spread from there. Players grew more attached to specific numbers as personal brands, even as the old positional logic faded.

Most popular jersey numbers and their associations

Number	Traditional Position	Famous Wearers	Why It’s Popular
1	Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon, Peter Schmeichel	Leadership, last-ditch defending
7	Right winger / forward	Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, George Best	Pace, flair, goal threat from wide
9	Centre-forward	Ronaldo (Brazilian), Karim Benzema	Goals, strength, finishing
10	Attacking midfielder / second striker	Pelé, Maradona, Messi, Zidane	Creativity, vision, playmaking
11	Left winger	Ryan Giggs, Gareth Bale	Wide attacking play
3	Left-back	Roberto Carlos, Ashley Cole	Bombing runs from defence
6	Central midfielder / centre-back	Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer	Defensive solidity, leadership

No. 10: the most coveted number

No other shirt number carries the weight of the 10. It traces back to Pelé at the 1958 World Cup, where Brazil’s numbering system happened to hand the then-17-year-old the number. He made it famous on his own.

Maradona wore it for Argentina, Zidane wore it for France, and Messi wore it for Argentina until he retired it in Maradona’s honor. At club level, the No. 10 usually goes to the most technically gifted player in the squad. Wearing it comes with an expectation attached.

No. 7: the number of icons

At Manchester United, the No. 7 passed from George Best to Bryan Robson, then Eric Cantona, then David Beckham, then Cristiano Ronaldo, whose run with the number turned it into one of the most commercially valuable shirts sold anywhere. At Real Madrid, Raul wore it before Ronaldo arrived and took it over. Each handoff added another layer to what the number means.

No. 9: the striker’s number

A true No. 9 scores goals for a living. Brazilian striker Ronaldo defined the role for a generation, and his performances at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups tied the number permanently to explosive, physical finishing. Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, and Harry Kane all wore 9 during the best years of their careers.

Unusual and personal numbers

Squad numbering opened the door to less traditional choices. Zlatan Ibrahimovic wore 9 and 10 at different clubs, but also wore 18 at times. Some players choose numbers for personal or religious reasons. Gianluigi Buffon once wore No. 77, a choice he put down to personal superstition rather than anything positional.