Vinicius Jr will wear Real Madrid’s new number 7

Vinicius Jr will wear Real Madrid’s new number 7.

Vinícius Júnior will wear Real Madrid’s iconic No. 7 shirt — previously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo — next season after the departure of Eden Hazard, the club confirmed Monday.

Vinicius, 22, is now listed as Madrid’s No. 7 in the first-team squad section of the club’s website.

In addition, fellow Brazil international Rodrygo Goes will now wear the No. 11, after Marco Asensio left the club.

Vinicius wore the No. 20 shirt last season, while Rodrygo wore the No. 21. Both players are now key members of the first team, scoring a combined 19 LaLiga and 12 Champions League goals last campaign.

Hazard wore Madrid’s No. 7 from his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu in July 2019 until his departure this month.

The Belgian agreed to rescind his contract a year early, after a disappointing four years in Spain.

Ronaldo wore the No. 7 for eight seasons between 2009 and 2018, becoming Madrid’s all-time record scorer with 450 goals, and winning four Champions League trophies.One such player is Vinicius Jr, the Brazilian having been brought to Europe as a teenager by the club for a hefty transfer fee, belief clear that he was going to play a big part of the future. There are still many years ahead but the signs are good and he’s already delivering at the very highest level. A Champions League final winner in 2022 setting him up for another strong season.

That level of performance and continued trust in his abilities has seen Vinicius handed the iconic number 7 shirt by Los Blancos, freeing up the number 20. The seven is a famous marking across many clubs’ legends and in Madrid has been worn by the likes of Kopa, Amancio, Juanito, Butragueño, Raúl and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s most recent owner, Eden Hazard, didn’t have the best of times, with injury hitting his career in Spain hard.