Dybala and Matic Both Unveiled as Roma's New Number 21

Roma today unveiled new signing Paolo Dybala as their new number 21, the same number that was given to fellow new recruit Nemanja Matic just a few weeks ago.

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May 12, 2022

Dybala and Matic Both Unveiled With Number 21 Shirt

Jose Mourinho signed Matic for a third time at a third different club when he brought the Serbian to Roma in early July, with the midfielder opting for the vacant number 21 shirt which he had also worn at Benfica and Manchester United. It therefore came as a surprise to see Paolo Dybala holding the same jersey aloft at his unveiling today.

21 is Dybala's shirt number at international level and he took it up on his arrival at Juve, before switching to the iconic 10 shirt when previous occupant Paul Pogba left the club. Roma's last number 10 was of course club legend Francesco Totti, and although the Giallorossi did not officially retire the number in his honour, it would come with an enormous weight of expectation and obligatory comparisons to il Gladiatore and has not been worn since his retirement.

Dybala's shirt number progression since he moved to Serie A.

It is reported that Totti himself gave Dybala his blessing to become Roma's new number 10, but instead of taking on that burden, Dybala chose 21 as his squad number. This was done with the permission of Matic of course, who was able to pick the classic "first team" number 8 shirt as a replacement.

A gesture of respect and recognition for his new teammate, something we've seen before from both Juan Cuadrado and Edinson Cavani who both gave their number 7 to Cristiano Ronaldo when he pitched up at their clubs. Although poor Anthony Martial didn't have too much say in forfeiting his number 9 to Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the Swede rocked up at Old Trafford.

This case is slightly unusual in the fact that the shirt belonged to Matic for only a few weeks before he gave it up, while Dybala has now been involved in squad number reshuffles at two clubs this summer.

Can you think of any other instances of a club giving out the same squad number to different players in the same transfer window? Let us know in the comments.