Cristiano Ronaldo will be forced to inherit an unfamiliar shirt number when he officially arrives at Manchester United.
The Red Devils confirmed on Friday that they have agreed a blockbuster return for the 36-year-old following a whirlwind round of transfer negotiations during which they muscled Manchester City out of the running.
Ronaldo will join up with his new teammates after the international break and could make his second debut for the club against Newcastle United on September 11.
However, the five-time Ballon d'Or will be unable to wear the iconic number seven shirt upon his return, with Edinson Cavani currently in ownership of it.
Ronaldo has built his CR7 brand around the shirt number, which he first wore after joining Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon for his first spell in 2003.
With the exception of one season as Real Madrid's number nine, Ronaldo has since worn the number seven shirt in every season of his career, and his time with it at Old Trafford helped to enhance the legend of a jersey previously adorned by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
The number nine is also currently occupied by Anthony Martial, leaving the number 12 shirt as the lowest available to Ronaldo.
Numbers 15 and 24 are also up for grabs, although Ronaldo could instead look to take the number 28, which he wore at Sporting before joining Man United.
Indeed, Ronaldo revealed upon joining United in 2003 that he had asked for the number 28 shirt, only for Sir Alex Ferguson to give him the '7' recently vacated by Beckham.
Beckham is also the highest-profile previous occupant of the '28', which has also been worn by Phil Neville, Gerard Pique and Morgan Schneiderlin at Old Trafford.
Barney Corkhill
