Before I begin this story, let me ask a question: What is more popular; a shirt number or the person who wears the shirt number?
A shirt number is what is given to an individual to identify and differentiate from his teammates.
It is used as a way to know the player who is donning it.
Over the years, it has been divided into two sides; senior numbers and normal numbers and this has continued till now.
In the history of shirt numbers, only some have been more iconic and remarkable than the No. 7 shirt in Manchester United.
The number has been worn by some of the greats and legends of the game; "Captain Marvel" Bryan Robson, George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and the one who is considered to be the greatest holder, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since CR7's departure from United in 2010, the next holders failed to hit the high expectations that are expected from a No.7, hence the beginning of the "Number 7 curse".
Memphis Depay, Michael Owen, Angel Di Maria. These were players who shined in their previous teams but after becoming a United player and a No. 7, their career was never the same.
Antonio Valencia had the No.7 on the back of the shirt for just a season before switching back to his iconic No. 25.
Perhaps, no other player had a bad time with the shirt than Former Arsenal starboy, Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean signed for Manchester United in 2018 and just a reminder, he was one of the Gunner's best players.
He made 166 appearances and scored 80 goals for them, so his transfer was a big deal, and giving him the number didn't seem off at all.............until we saw the results.
45 appearances, 5 goals, 2 years. This wasn't what United expected from him.
Not only that, his performances were lackluster and he never impressed the club throughout his stay.
But around the summer of 2020, it seemed like the curse was lifted after new signing Edinson Cavani took up the number and although his start wasn't excellent, he became a crucial part of the team in the second half of the season, bagging important goals and helped the team the Europa League Final.
His tireless work rate also made him an instant fan favorite.
Overall, during his time with the shirt, he scored 17 goals in 35 appearances.
Before him, the total amount of goals scored by a number 7 post-2010 was a disappointing 23 goals from 4 players, with 17 coming from Michael Owen who made 53 appearances.
The only reason Cavani vacated the number was because of the return of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2021, and Ronaldo went on to score a total of 27 goals in 54 appearances during his one-and-a-half-year stint with the club.
However, since he left once again, the shirt has gotten a new master, in the form of a new boy Mason Mount.
Now, as at the time of this story, Mason hasn't done much to prove himself as a worthy candidate for the shirt, and with him being sidelined due to an injury, one could say that the curse has returned from its long hiatus.
For his sake and the sake of all United fans, let's hope he can live up to the expectations that have long been placed on whoever wears the iconic number, or else, he will just become another player who has done nothing but bring down the credibility of his iconic predecessors.
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