Michael Owen claims he was one of two Manchester United players in contention to inherit the No.7 shirt after Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford.
The iconic No.7 shirt was given to Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined Manchester United following the exit of David Beckham. It had already been worn by great players like George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona before Sir Alex Ferguson saw something in a young Portuguese boy that he could make his own.
In 2009, Ronaldo would leave Old Trafford for the Santiago Bernabeu. That left a huge void in Ferguson’s squad, which had just reached the Champions League final, only to lose against an incredible Barcelona side led by Pep Guardiola.
Former Ecuador international Antonio Valencia initially declined the No.7 shirt and it was given to Owen, who had arrived at the club on a free transfer. The move was deemed controversial because of Owen’s links to Liverpool, where he is an ambassador to this day.
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
Michael Owen reveals how Sir Alex Ferguson offered Man Utd’s iconic No.7 shirt
Former England international Owen joined Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent on talkSPORT this morning.
Owen, who also played for Real Madrid, spoke about how Ferguson offered him United’s iconic No.7 shirt. The retired footballer turned pundit revealed that the No.7 shirt could have also gone to Michael Carrick.
“I remembered Sir Alex Ferguson, he pulled me and Michael Carrick up into his office, and he said: ‘Mike’, looking at me, ‘I want you to wear the number seven. I’m sure you know the history, etc, but if you don’t want it for whatever reason, Michael [Carrick] can wear it.’ And I said: ‘no, no, no, absolutely. I’ll wear that. No problems.’
“Obviously, it’s a heavy shirt. I think it’d just been vacated by Ronaldo, so it was quite heavy.
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“I mean, there’s some great shirts, isn’t there, in football? Liverpool, obviously, number seven has been very famous over the years as well with the Keegans and Dalglish’s, etc.
“At Man United, number seven is also a big icon.”
Owen also spoke about his famous winner against Man City and reflected on his goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.
Who is the current Manchester United No.7?
The Manchester United No.7 shirt has been worn by several iconic players throughout the club’s history.
Mason Mount currently holds the No.7 shirt, and he will be hoping to have a greater impact on the team next season.
Ruben Amorim is a fan of Mount, but his time at Old Trafford has thus far been ruined by injuries.
United received a boost towards the end of the season when Mount returned from injury.
The England midfielder proceeded to show glimpses of what he can bring to Amorim’s side next season. United fans will hope that he can stay fit.