Man Utd Officially Unveils Matheus Cunha's Jersey Number

Manchester United have announced that their summer acquisition Matheus Cunha will don the iconic No. 10 jersey for the club moving forward, leading to a rather uncomfortable predicament.

Cunha, who represents the club's sole transfer addition during this window, has been assigned the jersey number previously worn by Marcus Rashford.

While Rashford remains contracted to Old Trafford, he has been permitted an extended absence from pre-season preparations to facilitate a permanent move elsewhere. The allocation of his shirt number to Cunha serves as the strongest indication that manager Ruben Amorim has no future plans for the 27-year-old forward.

Cunha previously sported the No. 10 jersey during his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers last campaign, and also during his stint at Hertha BSC. His less fruitful period at Atlético Madrid saw him wearing numbers nine and 19. For Brazil's national team, Cunha regularly features in the 21 shirt.

The 26-year-old becomes just the eighth player to wear Manchester United's No. 10 since the Premier League adopted permanent squad numbering in 1993.

Mark Hughes held the distinction of being first, followed by David Beckham who wore it briefly during the 1996–97 season before switching to his preferred No. 7. Teddy Sheringham and Ruud van Nistelrooy then carried the number with distinction, before Wayne Rooney claimed it for an entire decade. Rashford took over in 2018, following Zlatan Ibrahimović's brief tenure during select matches in the 2017–18 season.

The jersey has seldom remained unassigned, sitting vacant only during 1995–96 following Hughes' departure to Chelsea, and again for one year after Van Nistelrooy's transfer to Real Madrid in 2006.

United's most iconic No. 10 from the pre-Premier League days remains Denis Law. The departed Old Trafford icon donned it more frequently than any other number during his 11-year tenure in red, capturing the 1964 Ballon d'Or following a club-record 46-goal campaign.

Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best also sported these digits during different periods of their illustrious careers, alongside Stan Pearson, Dennis Viollet, David Herd and Norman Whiteside among other club legends who wore the number.

Man Utd No.10s in the Premier League era