Kevin De Bruyne Spotted Donning Napoli's Legendary Jersey Number
Kevin De Bruyne has been spotted donning Napoli's most iconic jersey number, sparking speculation about whether he might become the first player to officially wear it in nearly two decades.
De Bruyne selected the Serie A title holders last month following Manchester City's choice not to extend the Premier League icon's contract.
De Bruyne was absent from the recent FIFA Club World Cup, stating beforehand after departing City that it "doesn't make any sense". There was also a strategic element of self-preservation from possible injury ahead of joining a new club: "I have to take care of myself because if I get injured in the Club World Cup, what am I going to do? Nobody's going to take care of me at that point."
This means that, while his former City colleagues were still competing until early this month and have only enjoyed two weeks of break thus far, the 34-year-old has already begun training with Napoli.
In several images released by the club, De Bruyne has been photographed wearing No. 10 on his practice uniform.
That was, naturally, the number once donned by Diego Maradona.
The Argentine legend single-handedly transformed Napoli into a dominant force in Italian and European football during the 1980s, guiding the club to its maiden Serie A championships in 1986–87 and 1989–90.
When Maradona died at age 60 in 2020, Napoli rechristened their stadium in his memory.
The No. 10 jersey had already been permanently withdrawn during his lifetime, in 2006, not typically a standard procedure in football unlike the Big Four sports in America. The final player to officially don it was Mariano Bogliacino in the Supercoppa di Lega C1, deep within Italy's football hierarchy. The number was initially retired in 2000, but Napoli had to bring it back just four years later following their relegation to Serie C1 and league rules requiring numbers 1–11 to be used.
However, despite his own reputation, the possibility of No. 10 being brought out of retirement for De Bruyne now appears unlikely, even though seeing it on his training gear has generated excitement.