The best No. 7s in club football right now
Luis Figo, Raul, Bebeto, Garrincha, George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Bryan Robson - the list is endless. The No. 7 has graced the jersey of some of the most famous footballers in history, who have taken the number to an iconic level.
In some cases, like that of Manchester United, the No. 7 is an honour, a privilege and the pressures of wearing that jersey can make even the proven feet wobble.
Traditionally, the No. 7 was worn by a right-winger. However, with time, the allocation of jersey numbers in football has changed and teams are now more flexible with them. As such, the No. 7 is worn not just by a winger anymore. Instead, there is evidence of midfielders, strikers, attacking midfielders and even defensive midfielders who have donned the jersey.
Recently, after a summer of searching for replacements for the outgoing Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid handed its iconic No. 7 to Mariano, who was bought back from Lyon. The move did not go well with the fans of the club, bringing the jersey No. 7 under limelight again.
There are currently quite a lot of exceptional talent playing under this iconic jersey number. The No. 7 has often been given to the most charismatic, wily and crafty player in the team. Among all of those phenomenal talents around, we pick the five best No. 7s in club football right now:
#5 N’golo Kante (Chelsea)
N’golo Kante is exactly the opposite of the traditional No. 7. A defensive midfielder of the highest qualities, Kante is the Chelsea No.7. Of course, he plays as the traditional no. 6 or the 8, but he is still the best at what he does in the world.
Kante broke into the scene in the Premier League at his former club Leicester City, powering them to the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season. He used to wear the No. 14 Jersey there. He then switched over to Chelsea, put on the No. 7 shirt, and immediately won the Premier League again, in the 2016/17 season. The FA Cup followed next season.
His achievements with France are no less either, even though he does not wear the No.7 jersey there. Kante is a world champion, winning the 2018 World Cup with France. He also has numerous personal awards to his name.
With the arrival of Maurizio Sarri and Jorginho this season at Chelsea, Kante has seen himself promoted to an advanced role. So far, he has looked just as effective playing his natural game higher up in the pitch, and as a cherry on the top, also has a goal to his name already.
Kante may not be your usual No. 7, with his pressing and tacking and intense energy game, but there can be no arguing with the fact that he is one of the best No. 7s around.
#7 Fact: Kante has worn the No. 7 jersey before at SM Caen in the 13/14 season.