Only the true superstars get to insist upon a certain squad number.
While it’s usually no issue for the more eccentric members of a squad to go wild and select a 33 or 99 or some mad shit like that, the prime real estate of 1-11 are typically less available for shot-callers.
But Antoine Griezmann is undoubtedly the biggest name in the Atletico Madrid ranks and any request from him simply wasn’t going to be turned down by the club’s brass.
You likely know this already but the Frenchman currently wears the number 7 on his back for his club and country.
And there’s a very good reason for that!
Griezmann has revealed, in an interview with AS, his footballing idol who was the very reason that he insisted on wearing the number 7 jersey.
“My idol was David Beckham and he wore the number 7 shirt at United,” Griezmann said by way of explanation for that decision.
“He later went on to use the number 23 shirt and even number 32 during his time at PSG.”
Red Devils supporters lost the run of themselves once Memphis Depay left Old Trafford for Lyon in the summer in a move that left United’s iconic number 7 shirt vacant.
Having seen the likes of Beckham, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo wear the famous 7 jersey, United fans felt the stage was set for Griezmann to add his own name to that illustrious list.
But we wouldn’t get too excited just yet as the 26-year-old has most recently poured cold water on the talk of a potential switch to Jose Mourinho’s side.
“It’s always the same question and I now don’t know what to say,” he said in that same interview. “I find myself repeating myself and I certainly see myself here. I feel it’s an answer that I’ve given so many times now but that very question is quite tiring.”
So don’t go getting “Griezmann – 7” on the back of any United jersey for the time-being is what we’re essentially saying.
