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#3 Milan - jersey number 9
A second entry for jersey number 9, in succession, Milan's striking options in recent years, have been substandard, to say the least. Roberto Baggio, Patrick Kluivert, and George Weah are some of the legends to have plied their trades at the San Siro with number 9 on their back.
Filippo Inzaghi proved to be the last recognized striker to have successfully carried out the legacy of the elusive jersey number. The Italian superstar spent a decade with the Rossoneri, making 300 appearances for Milan.
Alexandre Pato, the Brazilian prodigy, switched from No.7 to 9 after Inzaghi's retirement. However, Pato fell off the track almost immediately after inheriting the shirt and was shipped off to Corinthians with just four appearances as Milan's main man.
A string of mediocre players have since gone on to don the jersey number 9, including Luis Adriano, Gianluca Lapadula, Mattia Destro, Alessandro Matri, and Krzysztof Piatek. Predictable as it was, all of them failed to make any substantial impact.
However, the problem is not restricted to sub-par players being given responsibilities beyond their caliber. Renowned strikers like Fernando Torres and Gonzalo Higuain saw their already low stock downright plummet after taking on the no.9 shirt in Milan.
Moreover, Andre Silva's reputation received a huge blow as number 9 at Milan. With Olivier Giroud becoming the latest forward to be assigned to the said figure, it would be interesting to see whether the Frenchman can break the pattern or not.
#2 Manchester United - jersey number 7
Eric Cantona's acquisition by Manchester United from bitter rivals Leeds, for a nominal fee of €1.8m proved to be a stroke of genius by Sir Alex Ferguson. The French international's legacy at Old Trafford has been immortalized by his stupendous technique, the infamous fan-kicking incident, and his iconic jersey number 7.
David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo followed suit and established a 17-year-long bequest for the fabled jersey number at Manchester United. However, after Ronaldo's record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, the Red Devils have failed to adequately replace the Portuguese superstar. No player, to be associated with No. 7 has even come close to replicating Ronaldo and his predecessors' heritage.
Some of the best players of this generation have tried and failed to honor the jersey number 7 at Old Trafford. Angel Di Maria's blazing start to life in Manchester showed signs of improvement. However, his three goals and four assists in his first six games turned out to be a false positive as the Argentine was sold to PSG after a solitary season.
Micheal Owen, Memphis Depay and especially Alexis Sanchez, endured a horrid time at the club with the jersey number 7 on their back. Edinson Cavani's bit-part role as a super-sub last season is the closest anyone has ever come to matching the high standards of the shirt.
#1 Chelsea - jersey number 9
Chelsea recently initiated the return of Romelu Lukaku for a mind-boggling fee of €115m this summer. This means that the sturdy Belgian now boasts the highest cumulative transfer fee in the history of football, with a total of €327.56m. Lukaku will be taking jersey number 9, vacated by the outgoing Tammy Abraham.
Chelsea fans all around the world will be hoping that their latest record-signing does not succumb to the infamous curse that has been plaguing Stamford Bridge since early 2000s.
In the recent past, Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, Radamel Falcao and Fernando Torres have been victims of the said jinx, failing miserably with the Blues.
To put things into perspective, Spanish veteran Torres has been the most prolific striker of the lot with just 45 goals in 175 appearances to show for his €58.5m price tag.
Barring the evergreen Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, every single player to have donned the doomed jersey number post-2000 has greatly underwhelmed at the club.
From Chris Sutton to the downright poor Khalid Boulahrouz, the Blues have seen multiple undeserving players flaunt their no.9 shirt. Even Hernan Crespo failed to impress the Chelsea faithful during his solitary season in London. This goes on to show that jersey number 9 might just be a cursed figure at Stamford Bridge.
Also read: 5 players who did not do justice to jersey number 10 at their clubs
