Antonio Valencia gave back the iconic No 7 shirt at Manchester United because he believed another player was more worthy of wearing it. The former United skipper spent 10 years at Old Trafford, wearing his customary No 25 for nine of those campaigns.
Inheriting the legendary number
After sporting his trademark number for three seasons, the ex-Ecuador international became the next in line to inherit the legendary No 7 shirt following Michael Owen's exit in the summer of 2012. The number holds unrivalled significance at United, with the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo all having worn it.
Valencia joined that illustrious roll call in the 2012/13 campaign, which remains the last occasion United claimed the Premier League title. Despite the championship glory Valencia experienced while wearing it, he ultimately reverted to his previous number, admitting that he wished to relinquish the No 7 to a more fitting recipient.
Direct conversation with Ferguson
"Firstly, I would like to thank Sir Alex Ferguson for trusting me with the No 7 shirt, because that shirt number has a lot of meaning at Manchester United," Valencia told Seven, powered by Ladbrokes.
"You know, the likes of Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo have all worn it. It was just unfortunate for me because it came at a time when I had a really difficult injury, so I never really had a chance to do something special in that shirt.
"In the end, I made the decision to give it back to the club, so they could pass the number on to someone else who could carry it better.
"Once I made that decision, because I knew Sir Alex was a great person to talk to – his door was always open for me – I talked to him directly about it, about my reason for giving the number back, and that I felt another player deserved it.
"He understood me totally, and just said he wanted me to be happy – those were his only words. I went back to No 25, which had served me well, but I'll always be grateful to the club for trusting me with the number seven."
Who wore it after Valencia
Just six players have worn the No 7 shirt since Valencia, amongst them Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay, Alexis Sanchez and Edinson Cavani.
Ronaldo reclaimed the number from the Uruguayan upon his comeback in 2021, yet it was left vacant following his acrimonious departure in November 2022.
The iconic shirt number went unclaimed until July 2023, when Mason Mount adopted it after completing a £60million switch from Chelsea.
