Real Madrid fans react on Twitter to Mariano Diaz being given the iconic number 7
Real Madrid are set to witness the dawn of an era of uncertainty- one without their star man Cristiano Ronaldo and without manager Zinedine Zidane whose unexpected exit from the club after winning the Champions League left fans shocked.
The Spanish side sold their greatest player - a goal machine - this summer. Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Italian giants Juventus in a staggering £99m move, bringing to an end his nine-year stay at the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo's tally for the La Liga giants is an incredible 450 goals in 438 appearances, making him the greatest player in their history.
The Portuguese ace is set to become the first player ever to win titles in England, Spain and Italy if his efforts are successful at Juventus.
Clearly, there are gigantic shoes to fill at Real Madrid. The club recently announced that the Ronaldo's iconic number seven jersey will be handed over to Mariano Diaz who returns to the Santiago Bernabeu after a year away.
Mariano was shipped off to Lyon a year ago. Sevilla was on the cards for the 25-year-old, having agreed on a fee with Lyon, but Real Madrid pulled a surprise move by activating their buy-back clause and bringing him back to the Bernabeu.
Mariano was not the big name signing that Real fans wanted as Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard and Harry Kane were all linked with a move to the Spanish giants but the talks came to nothing in the end.
Real Madrid fans all over are of the opinion that handing the number to Mariano will do him no favours and will instead put a huge amount of pressure and responsibility on his shoulders. They took to Twitter to make their feelings clear about the decision:
Some fans, however, had no problem with the decision and backed Mariano:
Mariano has accepted the number with grace and whether it works out for him or not remains to be seen.