Man Utd New Signee, Lukaku gets ‘Permission’ from Zlatan to wear United’s no 9 Shirt
Manchester United new boy Romelu Lukaku will wear the no 9 shirt after getting “permission” from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Former Everton striker Lukaku completed a monster £75 million move to Old Trafford, with United legend Wayne Rooney moving in the opposite direction and ahead of his introduction to his new teammates in Los Angeles, the Belgian powerhouse has revealed he’ll be succeeding the departing Ibrahimovic in the iconic no 9 shirt, Goal writes.
“I always asked my mother what number, and I used to play with the 10 because my mother’s birthday is on Oct. 10, so it’s the 10th month of the year,” he told ESPN.
“That’s why I played with No. 10. I asked for the number nine because I’m a striker.
“Strikers play with No.9. It’s a nice number, and I asked the permission of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I want to thank him, as well, for allowing me to wear that number.”
Lukaku, 24, becomes the eighth United player to be given the number nine since the introduction of squad numbering in 1993, with Brian McClair, Andy Cole, Louis Saha, Dimitar Berbatov, Radamel Falcao, Anthony Martial and Ibrahimovic all wearing it before him.
The former Chelsea striker could make his United debut on Saturday night when Jose Mourinho’s men take on LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center in their first pre-season match of the summer.
Warning for the Belgian: he’s stepping into big shoes!
ENJOY FREE CONTENTS FROM US
IN YOUR EMAIL
Breaking News, Events, Music & More
