After his first season at Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is likely to change his jersey number. The superstar is following in the footsteps of some club legends.
Following the departure of Luka Modric, the prestigious number 10 at Real Madrid is available for the first time in eight years. Now it appears who will wear it in the future: Kylian Mbappé will probably take over the iconic jersey.
The French superstar confirmed corresponding media reports in a brief post with the number “10” on X. There has been no communication from the club itself about a change to date.
“Mbappé ‘announces’ that he is Madrid’s number 10,” wrote the newspaper Marca, “perhaps a little short, but very effective in marketing terms.”
In his first season with the Royals after his move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, Mbappé wore number 9. In the French national team, however, the 26-year-old has been wearing the 10 for years.
Number 9 at Real Madrid becomes available
At club level, Mbappé had only worn this jersey number in his last games for Monaco and during his time in the youth team.
Kylian Mbappé has been playing for Real Madrid since 2024
Due to the upcoming change, the number 9 at Real Madrid will be available – as it was after Karim Benzema’s departure for the 2023/24 season, it is looking for a new wearer.
In addition to Modric, club legends such as Luis Figo, Clarence Seedorf and the long-time German international Mesut Özil recently wore the iconic Real jersey with the 10.
Will the new number boost jersey sales?
Real hopes the change will increase jersey sales. The benchmark is the 2009/10 season, Cristiano Ronaldo’s first (and only) with the 9.
At that time, according to Marca, Madrid initially sold 15 jerseys per minute, with a total of more than a million “CR7” shirts sold and a turnover of more than 100 million euros.