Barcelona have revealed Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero’s squad numbers for the 2021/22 season.
Both players signed on free transfers recently after long being linked with a move to Camp Nou. Depay was supposed to join last summer, only to have his move from Lyon blocked by La Liga finance regulations. Meanwhile, Aguero penned terms after his Manchester City contract expired at the end of last season.
Depay has been handed the nine shirt for the upcoming campaign, the same number he wore during his initial loan spell with Lyon back in 2016/17. To facilitate this, Martin Braithwaite – Barcelona’s number nine last season – has been moved to 12.
As for Aguero, he will be displaying 19 on the back of his shirt. He has never worn the number before, previously donning number ten in all but four of his seasons as a professional. That number is available following the departure of Lionel Messi, although it is expected that Barça will leave it vacant as a show of respect.
The only issue with retiring it is that La Liga regulations require 25 senior players to be registered with numbers 1-25. If Barça were to leave ten free, they would be forced to decrease their squad size by one. Saying that, the club did only register a 24-man squad last term.
Aguero and Depay are not the only Barcelona players who have been handed new short numbers this season. Riqui Puig – who wore 12 last season – has been handed number six, which had been vacant following the departure of Carles Alena to Getafe.
Ansu Fati has also been promoted from 22 to 17, courtesy of Francisco Trincao’s loan move to Wolves. Fati’s vacant number has been taken by full-back Emerson Royal. It is not yet clear what number new signing Eric Garcia will be wearing this season.