As is the case in most other teams, the number 10 holds a special significance for FC Barcelona. Some of the greatest legends of the club have worn this number, with Lionel Messi being the latest icon to have donned this number during his spectacular career at the club.
After Messi’s departure, Ansu Fati was given this number, as he put in some very high-quality displays at a very young age for Barcelona. Although injuries and lack of form sidetracked his early good trajectory, and despite him having spent the last season on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion, he still remains the owner of this special squad number at the Catalan club.
Fati intends to impress the new Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick, in the upcoming pre-season, but keeping in view the talent and stardom at the moment, the player who most deserves the number 10 shirt for the next season is clearly Lamine Yamal.
However, according to the journalist Jordi Cardero, the 16-year-old is having some doubts about whether he wants to wear this shirt, especially as he remembers how Fati’s career has developed since the Blaugranes offered him this number after Messi’s departure.
Lamine debuted with the first team with the number 39 on his back, but last season, he donned the number 27 shirt. With the national team, he is wearing the number 19 in the UEFA EURO 2024.
Yamal has already worn both the number 10 and number 7 jerseys while playing for youth teams, but understands that these numbers have a special significance in the first team.
The last season was the first time in 27 years that there was no number 10 in the Barcelona squad. While wearing this number would clearly show a role of leadership and talent for Yamal, he believes he does not need it yet, but will get it in the future when he has successfully completed more stages in his development.
