Raphaël Varane inherits Zidane's mythical No.5 shirt

Raphaël Varane has swapped squad numbers, changing the number '2' for the number '5', the fabled shirt number which current coach, Zinedine Zidane, wore for five seasons with Real Madrid during his playing days. The central defender takes on the squad number of the man he idolized and who was the principal reason he ended signing for Real Madrid in 2011. At that time, Varane was only 19 and had barely played 20 games for Lens in Ligue 1.

Varane take over a squad number which some observers had thought was being reserved for another French player, Paul Pogba. Previously, it was the number worn by Fábio Coentrão but the No.5 was not re-issued when the full-back moved to Monaco on loan last season; after returning, the Portuguese defender has been handed the number 15 shirt, which he will wear once he has recovered from a muscular injury.