Eight players who don’t care for tradition when it comes to the numbers on their backs.
Earlier today, we brought you the news that imminent Chelsea signing Juan Cuadrado has chosen 74 as his squad number at Stamford Bridge.
SEE MORE:
New Chelsea Signing Juan Cuadrado Chooses Weird Squad Number.
LOL! Top Ten Harry Kane Memes After Tottenham Wonderkid Races To 20 Goals.
Morgan Schneiderlin Snubs Liverpool & Man United To Agree Arsenal Transfer.
Cuadrado apparently wanted 11, but it was already taken by Didier Drogba, so he opted for 74 because 7 + 4 = 11. Go figure!
Here are seven other footballers who have worn whacky numbers on their backs.
7. Mario Balotelli (Man City, AC Milan and Liverpool) – number 45
We would hardly expect Balotelli to pick a normal number!
6. Ronaldinho (AC Milan) – number 80
The Brazilian legend went for 80 simply because he was born in 1980. That’s just about Ok.
5. Milan Baros (Liverpool) – number 5
A striker wearing five is just wrong. This one was felt ever more weird because the number five shirt went to Baros after it was vacated by Steve Staunton – could you get two more different players!?
4. William Gallas (Arsenal) – number 10
If five is wrong for a striker, 10 is super wrong for a defender! Gallas was given 10 by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who did not want to hand Dennis Bergkamp’s old number to a forward, as he felt it would too much pressure on them.
3. Ronaldo (AC Milan) – number 99
No, this was not because Ronaldo loves ice cream! Nine is the number every top striker wants, but Filippo Inzaghi already had dibs on it. So, Ronaldo went one better… two nines!
2. Ivan Zamorano, Inter Milan – number 1+8
When Ronaldo moved to Inter in 1997 he was given Zamarano’s number nine shirt. To keep Zamarano happy, they let him have ‘1+8’ on his back. We have no idea how, but this was allowed!
1. Gianluigi Buffon (Parma) – number 88
The great Italian goalkeeper briefly ditched his number one jersey in 2000. He initially asked for 00, because he liked how it looked like two balls. He wasn’t allowed two zeros, so he went for two eights, as it reminded him of four balls! What a load of balls!
