Brave move! Vinicius Jr asked for Cristiano Ronaldo’s old No.7 shirt at Real Madrid

The highly-rated South American has donned the No.20 jersey since making the breakthrough with the Blancos on the back of a 2018 transfer from Flamengo. His stock has soared of late, with 45 goals recorded across the last two seasons.

Vinicius was involved in more goals last season (23 of his own and 21 assists) than Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema (31 goals and seven assists), which further highlights his value to the cause at Santiago Bernabeu. That standing has been rewarded with an iconic squad number.

The Brazil international is Real’s new No.7 – following the departure of Eden Hazard - allowing him to follow in the footsteps of iconic figures such as Ronaldo, Raul and Emilio Butragueno. According to The Athletic, Vinicius asked club president Florentino Perez if he could take that shirt. Said request was happily granted, with Real seeing the Samba star as their next marketing dream.

Vinicius has looked lively in pre-season when filling his new number, despite missing a penalty in a Clasico clash with arch-rivals Barcelona at one stage, and will be hoping to be joined in Madrid by World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe at some point in the near future – with the Frenchman making a push for the exits at Paris Saint-Germain.