Official: Eden Hazard will wear '7' at Real Madrid

With just over a week until the start of the LaLiga season, Real Madrid has announced the squad numbers for the upcoming campaign on its website this Friday.

And as expected, the club confirmed Eden Hazard will wear the prestigious number ‘7’ shirt, following in the footsteps of legends like Cristiano Ronaldo, Raúl and Raymond Kopa.

Hazard will take the ‘7’ shirt from Mariano Diaz, who inherited the number from Ronaldo and gives it up after one disappointing season at the Bernabéu. The Spanish-Dominican has been handed number ‘24’ amid uncertainty surrounding his future at the club.

Hazard, who signed for Madrid for 100 million euros from Chelsea in June, has worn the number ‘50’ over the course of the pre-season, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. 

Modric refuses to give Hazard #10

The Belgian striker, of course, wore the number 10 at Stamford Bridge and revealed back in June that he had jokingly asked Luka Modric if he could “lend” him the ‘10’ shirt at the Bernabéu. Not surprisingly, the Ballon d’Or winner refused, although Hazard added that “right now, the number is not important for me, I just [want] to play with this badge."

Hazard will have his first taste of LaLiga football wearing the badge of Madrid next Saturday, as Zinedine Zidane’s side travel to Vigo to take on Celta.

And while squad numbers have been assigned ahead of the LaLiga campaign, some players may still be yet to leave the club before the close of the transfer market, while others could still very well make their arrival.