The departure of Argentine star Lionel Messi from Barcelona leaves the iconic number "10" in the team for the 2021-2022 season, vacant.
After wearing the number for more than a decade, Messi left the Camp Nou once and for all, waiting to know the future team as the chances of Paris Saint-Germain advanced, to win his signature.
The question is, who will wear the number "10" after the departure of the Catalan legend?
No one dared to approach the shirt in Barca's 3-0 victory over Juventus in the "Juan Gamper" Cup, and the shirt may be left unattended for next season.
And there is no option to withhold shirt numbers in the Spanish League, contrary to the tradition seen in the NBA, in the Italian League, and even in extreme cases in the English Premier League, with Chelsea withholding the number “25” in honor of former Italian star Gianfranco Zola. .
The newspaper "Daily Mail" (Daily Mail), which confirmed that the rules of the Spanish Football Federation clearly stipulate that the 25 players who can be registered must be registered with shirts with numbers between the number one and the number 25.
Barcelona will not be able to block Messi's number except in one case, which is his registration of 24 players and giving up a place in the list.
The number "10" is legendary in football in general and in Barcelona in particular, as it was previously worn by Maradona, Romario, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and finally Messi.