Barcelona: On Wednesday, the Spanish champions announced that Lamine Yamal, the young Spanish and Barcelona football sensation, will inherit the iconic number 10 jersey worn by club legend Lionel Messi.
Yamal, who just turned 18 on Sunday, takes the jersey number from Ansu Fati, who has agreed to a season-long loan move to AS Monaco earlier this month, according to ESPN.
FC Barcelona responded on their official X handle, saying: Our new No. 10.
The young winger has established himself as one of Barcelona and Spain's brightest prospects, having made 106 appearances for the club and scored 25 goals. Now, he will be wearing one of sport's most famous shirts, as well as a great deal of responsibility for scoring match-winning goals and helping his colleagues create plays.
Aside from Messi, the number 10 shirt has been worn by various Barcelona players, including Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Romário, and Diego Maradona.
It will be Yamal's fourth different shirt number with Spanish heavyweights, having worn number 41 on his debut in 2022-23, followed by number 27 the next season and number 19 last year. Interestingly, the number 19 was previously worn by Messi before he switched to the number 10 shirt.
Yamal has already won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, and one Spanish Supercopa with Barca. Last year, he contributed to Spain's victory in the European Championship, earning the title of 'Best Emerging Player'.
