Manchester Metropolis wrapped up their summer time switch enterprise with a signing that’s already making headlines. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma joined the Premier League champions from Paris Saint-Germain in a $35 million deal, nevertheless it’s not simply the switch charge or his anticipated battle for the No.1 spot that has captured consideration — it’s the bizarre squad quantity he has chosen on the Etihad.
The 26-year-old has develop into Pep Guardiola’s seventh and remaining signing of the switch window, arriving on a five-year take care of an choice for a sixth. However earlier than even pulling on the gloves, Donnarumma has already made Manchester Metropolis historical past with a choice that connects again to his roots in Milan and units him aside from each participant to come back earlier than him.
Metropolis had been getting ready for all times with out Ederson since early August, when the Brazilian goalkeeper made it clear he was prepared for a brand new problem. That transfer was confirmed on deadline day as Ederson left for Turkish aspect Fenerbahce in a $16m switch.
In got here Donnarumma, seen by Guardiola and Metropolis’s recruitment workers as the best substitute. He’ll compete with James Trafford, who returned from Burnley earlier in the summertime, for the beginning spot. Trafford has worn the gloves in all three of Metropolis’s opening league fixtures, and with a Manchester derby looming after the worldwide break, Guardiola faces a high-stakes determination.
The shirt quantity that breaks custom
The actual intrigue surrounding Donnarumma’s arrival lies in his shirt quantity. Metropolis goalkeepers have traditionally caught with conventional digits: No.1, 13, 18, or 31. However Donnarumma has chosen one thing by no means seen earlier than on the Etihad. The Italian will put on the No.99 shirt — the primary participant in Manchester Metropolis historical past to take action.
The selection is deeply private. At Milan, the place Donnarumma broke by way of as a teenage prodigy, he wore 99 as a tribute to his start 12 months, 1999. That quantity grew to become a part of his identification and model, till he was compelled to alter it after his 2021 transfer to PSG resulting from Ligue 1’s strict squad quantity guidelines.
Ligue 1 squad quantity laws necessitated that Donnarumma swap from carrying jersey quantity 99 to #1.French league guidelines require goalkeepers to put on 1, 16, or 30, although exceptions allowed him to briefly sport 50 and, in UEFA competitions, 99.
Now freed from these restrictions, the Italy shot-stopper has reclaimed his trademark digits in England. The Premier League permits any quantity between 2 and 99, with No.1 nonetheless reserved for goalkeepers — however since Trafford already occupies that shirt, Donnarumma’s daring alternative is each symbolic and historic.
