Joao Pedro Dares to Wear Chelsea's Cursed No. 9 — Will He Finally Break the Jinx?

Few superstitions loom larger over Stamford Bridge than the infamous curse attached to Chelsea's No. 9 shirt.

Season after season, Chelsea have witnessed the player bearing the No. 9 struggle to make an impact. Some have endured minor setbacks while others have become cautionary tales, with Liam Delap becoming the latest casualty of the jinx.

Having dismissed the number's grim reputation just 12 months ago, Delap may now be a convert after a torrid campaign that appears set to bring his Chelsea tenure to a close — he was stripped of the shirt number and banished from Xabi Alonso's first-team training sessions.

In a bid to finally put the curse to rest, Chelsea have taken a calculated approach. Rather than splashing out on a costly gamble, the Blues have entrusted the role to a player who looks primed for success after a breakthrough debut season that saw him reach remarkable heights.

João Pedro, who netted 23 goals throughout 2025–26, is the next man tasked with lifting the curse, having officially been handed the No. 9 shirt during Chelsea's preseason squad reshuffle.

Chelsea's No. 9s Since 2000

Signed in 2000 as Chelsea's marquee striker, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived as the No. 9, but fortunes soured dramatically with the arrival of Mateja Kežman in 2004. The Dutchman had been phenomenal at PSV Eindhoven, bagging 129 goals in 176 appearances, yet managed only seven strikes in his sole season at Stamford Bridge.

Hernán Crespo, who had already endured difficulties at Chelsea under a different number, performed adequately by scoring 13 goals in his one season with the 9 before departing for personal reasons. Things began to unravel considerably after that.

Defender Khalid Boulahrouz was next to inherit the 9, followed by reserve central midfielder Steve Sidwell, who has claimed the shirt was handed to him as part of then-boss José Mourinho's way of publicly criticizing the board for failing to sign a high-profile striker.

The club's answer? Pass the No. 9 to raw youngster Franco Di Santo, who was far from ready and failed to register a single senior goal for Chelsea before losing the shirt.

After years of underwhelming performances, the No. 9 curse truly intensified when Fernando Torres arrived from Liverpool in 2011. Regarded as one of the finest strikers on the planet and someone who had already demonstrated that quality in the Premier League, the Spaniard's form collapsed spectacularly at Stamford Bridge, setting off a pattern of high-profile names suffering inexplicable misery in the shirt.

Radamel Falcao, Álvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuaín all endured painful spells with 9 on their backs, before academy product Tammy Abraham looked poised to break the curse, only to be sidelined by Thomas Tuchel.

Desperate to see a genuine superstar thrive in the 9, Chelsea turned to Romelu Lukaku. Having just netted 30 goals for Inter to secure a $135 million (£97.5 million) homecoming, he publicly aired his grievances about Tuchel just four months later and expressed a wish to rejoin the Italian club. Unsurprisingly, he never managed to recover from that fallout.

Tuchel then pushed for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's return, only to be dismissed just six days after getting his wish. The No. 9 sat vacant for a full year following Aubameyang's underwhelming stint, before Delap became the curse's next victim.

Why Joao Pedro Can Break the Curse

We've heard it all before. "This is the one who'll finally break the curse!" "O.K., he flopped, but this guy will get it done!"

Pedro belongs to an entirely different category from all the previous curse victims. Everyone since Hasselbaink — Boulahrouz and Sidwell aside — arrived as a big name yet to prove they could lead the attack for Chelsea. Sure, they had delivered elsewhere, but until a player demonstrates their quality at Stamford Bridge, they will always carry an element of risk.

That simply does not apply to Pedro, who far surpassed all expectations last season, racking up 23 goals and nine assists across 53 appearances while wearing the No. 20. He is now Chelsea's undisputed first-choice striker, a status he has earned by already proving himself at the club. If anyone is capable of laying this curse to rest, it is him.

That said, there remains a degree of uncertainty at Chelsea surrounding new head coach Alonso. We have seen Pedro flourish under previous managers, but his performances under Alonso are yet to be fully assessed — though preseason offered plenty of encouragement, with seven goals and one assist across five matches.

Anything approaching those impressive numbers will be the remedy required to banish this curse for good.