FC Barcelona have a new number 7 and 11 for the upcoming 2023/2024 season.
Last term, when Barca reclaimed the La Liga title for the first time in four years, the jerseys were worn by Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Torres.
In the coming days, however, Dembele is expected to complete a surprise €50 million ($55 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain which was all but confirmed by sporting director Mateu Alemany following Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy match.
“We are in the process of resolving the transfer. Dembele is no longer in the first team dynamic, otherwise he would have been at the Gamper,” Alemany explained at full time.
“Dembele is in Paris. When the agreement is signed, we will communicate the figures of the operation and with that we close another folder.
“We are happy with the players who want to be with us,” he concluded.
Despite being placed on the transfer market this summer, Ferran is most definitely happy to be with the Blaugrana as is Raphinha.
With the number 7 now up for grabs, Spain international Ferran has taken the hallowed shirt previously worn by club legends such as Luis Figo and David Villa.
Brazilian Raphinha will assume the number 11, donned in yesteryear by compatriot icons Rivaldo and Neymar.
As two of only 13 Barca players registered for Sunday’s La Liga opener away at Getafe up until now, Ferran and Raphinha already appear on the Spanish top flight’s official page with their new numbers.
What will happen with Raphinha’s old number 22 is anybody’s guess.
Maybe it could be given to someone like Lamine Yamal, who through what was described as the greatest performance in the Joan Gamper Trophy since Lionel Messi against Juventus in 2005, destroyed Spurs by creating three goals in 10 minutes and made Culers forget about the outgoing Dembele while wearing the number 27.
Already marveling at just 16 years of age, you would think that Lamal will one day have such a number as 7 or 11 which are among the most prestigious for widemen.
According to El Nacional, however, Lamal is being lined up to relieve Ansu Fati of Messi’s 10 which Fati inherited in 2021 after the Argentine, like Dembele, departed for PSG.
Around the time Lamal debuted against Real Betis as a 15-year-old in the spring, head coach Xavi Hernandez said that the prodigy was ‘similar’ to his former teammate Messi while boasting “that innate talent in the final third which is difficult to find”.
