Dubai: Memphis Depay’s up and down start to his Old Trafford career has reignited debate over Manchester United’s famed No. 7 jersey — is wearing it a great honour or a heavy burden?
The Dutch winger asked to follow in the footsteps of the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo by taking the squad number seven when he signed from PSV Eindhover this summer. And, when he produced a sublime performance to down Club Brugge on his Champions League debut for the club last week, critics were purring that the 21-year-old could go on and replicate the success of his famed predecessors.
But watching Memphis perform in the Premier League so far, when he has been finding cul-de-sacs more often than the highway to goal, he looks more like the No. 7 flops of recent years, such as Angel Di Maria, Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen.
While the romantic hyperbole of comparing all incumbents with the likes of Best and Ronaldo needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, it’s hard not to feel that United are missing a key part of the club’s folklore when they don’t have a world-class No. 7. After all, for the first 16 seasons following the introduction of squad numbers in the English Premier League, the only men to have the number on their backs were Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo.
Since then, a declining Owen had the honour for three seasons — scoring just 17 goals in total — Ecuadorian winger-turned-full-back Valencia took it for one campaign before asking to go back to his original No. 25, nobody was brave enough in the 2013/14 campaign (perhaps coincidentally United’s worst league season since 1989/90), and British record signing Di Maria failed to settle last term.
Obviously many factors contributed to those players’ struggles, but the sooner the Red Devils can find an iconic new No. 7 the better — both for results on the pitch and shirt sales off it.
Ronaldo was the last player to flourish in the role, scoring 117 times in six seasons as he blossomed into one of the best players in the world under Alex Ferguson’s tutelage.
The Portuguese was never short of confidence, even as a teenager making the big step up to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. When he was handed the No. 7 shirt in 2003, he said: “I know it has a great tradition at United and anyone would be proud to wear it. Everyone has been telling me about George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona, and it does fill me with pride to be following in their footsteps. [It’s] a boyhood dream come true.
“The No. 7 shirt is an honour and a responsibility.”
That word ‘responsibility’ hints at the burden the jersey can become, and Ronaldo had a word of warning for Di Maria when his then-Real Madrid teammate headed for Manchester last year: “I said to him ‘number seven is a big responsibility’, but I think he will be able to take that shirt because he’s a fantastic player.” As it turned out, the Argentine lasted just one frustrating season before moving to Paris Saint-Germain.
England midfielder Robson, who captained United for 12 years in the 1980s and 90s, was a fierce, whole-hearted competitor who made the No. 7 shirt his own for many seasons. He praised Memphis for being confident enough to insist on wearing the jersey, but also alluded to how onerous it could become.
“I think he [Memphis] is a confident lad,” Robson told the club website. “He’s got great ability and great pace. So I don’t think that’s going to be a hassle to him, otherwise he wouldn’t have accepted the No. 7 shirt as soon as it was offered to him. I think if he had a problem, mentally, handling the pressure that comes with the No. 7 shirt, he would have said ‘no’ and asked for another number. So I’m sure and would hope he will enjoy playing for Manchester United, relax and play in the way he wants to play.”
Recalling how he passed on the number to enigmatic French forward Cantona, the 58-year-old said: “In my final year at United I let Eric have it when he wanted to wear it. I said to the gaffer, Alex Ferguson, ‘I know this is going to be my last season here’. So I was happy to switch to the No. 12 shirt at that time. Since then, the No. 7 shirt seems to have become even more special at United.”
So now the baton has been handed to Memphis and the youngster couldn’t be happier. “Yes, of course [I’m aware of the pressure] and the history,” he said on his arrival. “I appreciate the history, but I want to be my own man. It’s an honour to wear the number seven and I will wear it with pride.”
Now we must wait to see whether it holds him back or gives him the confidence to excel.
