Januzaj demoted
Manchester United announced the provisional squad numbers for the upcoming season earlier today. It made the news for several reasons. One being that there was a notable number vacant, many believing it’s waiting for Paul Pogba. Another was that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is United’s new number nine. It’s strange because Anthony Martial wore that shirt last season.
Now he’s wearing number eleven, Adnan Januzaj has been handed fifteen.
Martial matters
Martial was a huge hit with United fans last season. So much so that his shirt was one of the best-selling in world football. So it says a lot about how well Ed Woodward expects Zlatan to do commercially that he gave him this number. It also hints that United aren’t confident that Januzaj will fulfil his potential. The number eleven was made iconic by Ryan Giggs.
Giving it to Januzaj was huge symbolically. So is taking it away.
Zlatan’s Instagram reaction to the shirt number switch was noteworthy. Writing, “I chose the number 9”, it almosts sounds as though he’s boasting about taking the shirt from Martial. That wouldn’t be out of character. He doesn’t care about stepping on toes.
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