Barcelona have confirmed that Antoine Griezmann is to take up the club’s vacant no.17 shirt this season, news that will be good for teammate Philippe Coutinho to hear.
As per the club’s official Twitter account, the club have confirmed that their new signing will be taking over as the club’s new no.17, a number that was left vacant after Jeison Murillo returned to Valencia this summer after his loan spell with the club expired.
?@AntoGriezmann ?
Our new number 1?7?
??#Griezmann17 pic.twitter.com/hvlge0YVYy— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 14, 2019
And this decision looks set to spell good news for his new teammate Coutinho.
According to a report from AS, Griezmann was set to be handed the club’s no.7 shirt following his move from Atletico Madrid, news that would’ve been bad for Coutinho, as this is the number he currently dons.
The Liverpool Echo also picked up on this, and even added that Coutinho losing his no.7 shirt could be a sign that he’s set to leave the club in the near future.
Given this news, it seems like Coutinho could be set to stay at Barca for the season ahead, with the player now keeping ahold of his current shirt number (for the time being).
Having both Coutinho and Griezmann in their ranks this season will be a boost for Barca, as they’ll have two world class players on their hands as they look to retain their La Liga title, and reclaim their Champions League title.
Coutinho has had a difficult time with the Blaugrana since his move from Liverpool, however despite this, we’re sure there’s still a world class player in their somewhere.
And who knows, given this, we may even see that talent in Coutinho come out this season…
