The owner of the number 7 jersey at Manchester United is synonymous with legend in club Red Devils. George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo are examples of some players who have the opportunity to wear the sacred number.
George Best is a scorer of 179 goals for Man United and the European Cup winner. Bryan Robson holds the longest captain position in the history of the club. Eric Cantona won the Premier League and FA Cup, similar to David Beckham (plus the Champions League). Both of them became icons of the Red Devils of his time.
Ronaldo, the Portuguese player, won the English League trophy, FA Cup and Champions League. Moreover, he also won the Ballon d’Or 2008 title. However, since Ronaldo left the club in 2011, Man United lost the number 7 ‘true’ figure.
After Ronaldo, several players took turns wearing the honor number. They are Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Angel di Maria, Memphis Depay, and the last is Alexis Sanchez.
So, how is the fifth performance when you use your back number 7 at Man United?
Michael Owen is the first heir to wear back number 7 after Ronaldo. Coming from Newcastle in 2009, Owen had only three seasons strengthening the Red Devils. Owen successfully won the English League with Man United, but his league goals were minimal. He only scored five goals in 31 Premier League matches.
Antonio Valencia, the only heir to be number 7 after Ronaldo who is not a stricker. Valencia had assumed the title of captain of the team for the 2018-2019 season, but he failed to bring Man United to win the Premier League in that season. The position of captain was released at the end of the season.
Next up is Angel di Maria. The Argentine winger was brought in by Man United in 2014. However, he failed to display the best performance. Similarly, Depay also did not give his best performance until he finally returned to Lyon.
The last is Alexis Sanchez. Performing nicely at Arsenal, Sanchez has difficulty repeating his performance when in Man United’s uniform. At last, the Chilean player was loaned to Inter Milan this season.
In total, as reported by ESPN, all five players have only scored 15 goals in the Premier League – the highest caste of the English League. This is certainly inversely proportional to Ronaldo, who scored 84 goals for Man United in the Premier League.