Ronaldo to get No. 7 Shirt at Real, Benzema To Don No. 9
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Real Madrid Star Cristiano Ronaldo Wants To Wear Number 7 Shirt
'CR9' wants to wear Raul's old number seven jersey...
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he is keen on wearing the number 7 shirt that club legend Raul used to don.
The 33-year-old Madrid icon left the Bernabeu earlier this week for an adventure in the German Bundesliga with Schalke. There have been whispers that Ronaldo, who wore the number 7 jersey at his former club Manchester United but wears number 9 at Real Madrid, will be given Raul's number, and now the Portuguese maestro himself has made it clear that he would love to wear it.
"I would like to have the number '7' shirt and I'm sure Raul would be happy if I had it because he knows how I am and how I think," the 25-year-old is quoted as saying by Realmadrid.com at a press conference following los Blancos' first training session in Los Angeles.
"Raul was always an important player to Real Madrid. He made the decision that best suited his interests. He is a great professional and I'm sure he will play at a very high level."
Ronaldo is also very appreciative of new coach Jose Mourinho's approach during training sessions and believes the Merengues will be an offensive minded outfit.
"Mourinho is a winner. Real Madrid has attacking players, so we will be an offensive team. The priority right now is to get back in shape as soon as possible."
The Portuguese international, who didn't perform to his potential at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, is eager to start the new season and is confident of succeeding in 2010-11.
"We are very excited and working very hard. We have to keep this level of excitement up in order to win titles."
The former Ballon d'Or winner doesn't seem to be scared of bitter rivals Barcelona either. "Barcelona were more regular than us last year, but we are not worried about what they may do this season. I'm sure we will have a better run this year.
"If I actually believed we couldn't defeat Barcelona, I would be home instead of here.
"All great players are welcome here and we will greet them the best way we know how. All the summer signings are very good," Ronaldo concluded.
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Cristiano Ronaldo To Get No. 7 Shirt At Real Madrid; Karim Benzema To Don No. 9 - Report
CR9 will become CR7, Gonzalo Higuain will keep his number 20, while Karim Benzema will become Madrid's No. 9...
With the departure of Raul and Guti from the Real Madrid ranks, two important shirt numbers remain open in the squad. As reported by AS, Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Manchester United as CR7 to take the number nine upon arriving in Madrid, will take Raul's vacant No. 7 while Xabi Alonso will claim Guti's No. 14, giving the Basque midfielder the same number he traditionally wore at Liverpool and wears with the Spanish national team.
With CR9 becoming CR7, French striker Karim Benzema will reportedly vacate his No. 11 shirt to take up the historic Madrid No. 9, a number worn by such players as Alfredo Di Stefano, Hugo Sanchez and Brazilian striker Ronaldo (who, similar to Benzema, also left the No. 11 shirt after his first year at Madrid). Newcomer Angel Di Maria will take Benzema's old number while Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain has chosen to keep his traditional No. 20 shirt, declaring: "I have grown attached to the number and it is the one I've had since I arrived. I don't see a reason to change. Footballers are the ones who play, not the number."
New signing Pedro Leon has not yet decided, but will likely wear 21, while the No. 22 shirt, left free by Xabi Alonso's switch to 14, will be claimed by youngster Sergio Canales. German midfielder Sami Khedira will choose the number 16 for the pre-season, but summer transfers could potentially change that, as current No. 6 Mahamadou Diarra's possible transfer out of the club could leave the German international's World Cup number open.
The No. 2 shirt is also left open as Alvaro Arbeloa has claimed the no. 17 shirt, the same number he wore in the Spanish national team as they lifted the World Cup.
