Real Madrid’s No.7 is one of the most iconic shirts in world sport.
Over the past decade, the number has seemed inextricably linked to Cristiano Ronaldo.
But, despite his ‘CR7’ brand developed at Manchester United, the Portuguese initially wore No.9 in Madrid – No.7 at the time was occupied by Raul Gonzalez, a club legend who wasn’t about to be removed from the shirt.
Ronaldo and Raul aren’t the only greats to have donned the famous number - Goal takes a look at the history of the Real Madrid No.7, from its birth in the 1940s to the present day.
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The early years: Kopa, Amancio, Juanito
Never a club to shy away from making history, Real actually became the first Spanish side to wear numbered shirts in a game against Atletico Madrid on November 23, 1947.
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Initially, the numbers were purely functional. They ran 1-11, and were assigned to a position on the pitch rather than an individual player.
Early incumbents included Sabino Barinaga, a prolific forward who began his career at Southampton, and legendary midfielder Jose Maria Zarraga, but the first true star to wear No.7 was the great Raymond Kopa.
One of the all-time legends of French and Spanish football, Kopa spent the majority of his club career with Reims but represented Madrid between 1956 and 1959.
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Alongside the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, Kopa won two league titles and three European Cups, the last of which came against Reims – where he returned soon after.
The No.7 returned to circulation, bouncing between a few players before landing on the back of Amancio in 1963.
The outside right had arrived in Madrid from Deportivo La Coruna the year before, and he would stay until his retirement in 1976.
Amancio won nine league titles during his time at the club, winning the Pichichi trophy twice and being named in a FIFA World XI which played Brazil in front of 93,000 at the Maracana in 1968.
Known as ‘The Wizard’, Amancio scored 155 goals for Madrid and, after his playing career, would manage both the club’s Castilla and first team.
Following Amancio's retirement, the shirt moved from Henning Jensen to Ito, before stopping again with forward Juanito.
He was signed in 1977 after firing Burgos to promotion from the second division.
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Years earlier, while on the books at Atletico as a youngster, Juanito had suffered what looked like a career-ending tibia injury, but he went on to forge a fine career.
He played 350 games in La Liga, mostly at Madrid, and scored 99 goals in the top flight.
Five league titles, two UEFA Cups and a Pichichi Trophy came as well, before he left for Malaga after a decade at the club.
Tragically, Juanito was killed in a road accident in 1992, at the age of just 37.
The modern era: Butragueno, Raul, Ronaldo
By the time Juanito left Madrid in 1987, the No.7 shirt had already been taken on by Emilio Butragueno.
The predatory forward would go on to earn the nickname El Buitre (‘The Vulture’), and the frontline he spearheaded was known as La Quinta del Buitre (The Vulture Squad).
Madrid-born and brought up through the youth system and B Team, Butragueno was given his first-team debut by Alfredo Di Stefano in 1984. Madrid were 2-0 down at the time; Butragueno scored two and assisted another as they came from behind to win, the youngster emerging as a shining beacon of hope to a club losing its lustre.
He was a key part of the club’s revival in the mid-1980s, eventually leaving with a bustling trophy cabinet and 123 goals under his belt.
Butragueno left Madrid in 1995 as such a legend that the No.7 shirt was becoming an increasingly significant burden.
Rafael Martin Vazquez, Alfonso, Luis Enrique, Jose Amavisca and Juan Esnaider all tried it on for size, but it was Raul who decided it was the perfect fit.
Another Madrid native, Raul’s rise from the youth ranks mirrored Butragueno’s and hastened his exit from the Santiago Bernabeu.
In 16 years in the first-team picture, he became the record goalscorer for Real Madrid and Spain, and the leading scorer in the Champions League.
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He was the top scorer in La Liga and the Champions League twice each, came second in the 2001 Ballon d’Or, and captained both his club and his country.
His total of 323 goals for Madrid broke the record set by Di Stefano in the 1960s. For younger fans who only saw his later years, there is a tendency to overlook Raul in the hall of Real Madrid legends, but few have delivered as consistently for anywhere near as long.
The reason he can be forgotten by so many is the man who followed him. Di Stefano’s goal record stood from 1964 to 2009, but Cristiano Ronaldo broke it again by 2015.
His records hardly need repeating; 451 goals, four Champions Leagues, and the most compelling individual rivalry football has ever seen with Lionel Messi.
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Whether anyone could ever surpass Di Stefano’s significance at Madrid is questionable, but without doubt, Ronaldo is Madrid’s greatest player of the modern era.
When he left, the No.7 passed onto Mariano Diaz. The less said about that, the better.
Now, it is Eden Hazard’s mantle to rise to. The Belgian’s first season since moving from Chelsea was difficult, disrupted by injuries and characterised by inconsistency.
From Kopa to Cristiano, his predecessors have delivered glory to the Spanish capital. For Hazard, the challenge will make or break his legacy as a player.
