Two Manchester United players battling to be No.7 once Cristiano Ronaldo leaves

It used to be a curse, a shirt number that bore too much weight for the occupant and contributed to their demise at Manchester United. At least, that is how the story goes.

Of all the shirts in world football, there are few as symbolic as United's No.7. The very mention of it conjures up memories of George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo... twice.

For others, the cynics amongst us, it also harbours terrors of Michael Owen, Memphis Depay and Angel di Maria. The pressure of the shirt is so much that Antonio Valencia requested his old number back, such was his demise after wearing it for one season.

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Ronaldo's return last summer and the goals that followed highlighted that it takes a certain type of player to handle such pressure, though Edinson Cavani's success the season before had already done much of the work.

Cavani became a fan favourite in his first campaign at the club, though it was always asterisked by the very nature of the post-pandemic season and the freak results it produced.

This is expected to be Ronaldo's last season at United, and with that comes the relinquishing of the famed shirt number, and with it, huge pressure for someone else to fill the void, more so as a leading figure at the club, rather than as a player.

See, all of those who have famously donned the No.7 shirt before have not only been incredibly talented attacking stars, but they've also had the personality to match. Rivals fans will dismiss it as arrogance. There is a degree of that, but more so it is confidence and an incredible amount of self-belief.

Those who have struggled with the shirt haven't had such unwavering faith in their own abilities, and the