Rodriguez to bring back magic to '10' shirt

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2014 by Marca.com

James Rodriguez will be presented with the famous number 10 shirt when he officially signs for Real Madrid on Tuesday. And while it is one of the most attractive shirts on the football pitch, at Madrid it has been under lock and key for almost a season since Mesut Özil left the club last summer for Arsenal on the last day of the transfer window. It's ironic that the club had to win the tenth Champions League without a real number 10 on the pitch, but now that will all change.

The Colombian will wear the shirt with pride and he should do as more than one current Real Madrid player aspired to take it from him. In the case of Luka Modric it is because that is the number he wears for Croatia, while for Jesé it is his favourite number and he always wore the shirt in the club's youth teams. However, the club has decided to keep it warm for the second signing of the summer, after the German Toni Kroos, and that decision is sure to pay off with shirt sales set to rocket with the signing of the World Cup's top scorer.

Club President Florentino Perez can now finally sleep safe in the knowledge that the club has a top player wearing the famous number 10. Perez took it badly when it was Lass Diarra who wore the 10 on his back from 2009-10 for two seasons and the commercial value of the shirt plummeted.

During the first season, Cristiano Ronaldo (7), Kaká (8) and Benzema (9) all arrived, and Özil came next but Diarra was not keen to give the shirt up. The German international had to wait a further season before claiming it during the first game of the pre-season when Diarra looked to be heading out of the door. The French player eventually did play that season but had to make do with the number 24.