Hazard takes on Ronaldo’s No. 7 shirt at Real Madrid

The Belgian wore the No. 50 in the pre-season, but will now take on the number that Cristiano Ronaldo wore during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mariano Diaz wore the No. 7 last season in Madrid’s first campaign after Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, but the striker has now switched to the No. 24 to give Hazard the famous shirt.

Hazard completed a move from Chelsea to Real Madrid this summer in a deal worth €100 million (£88m/$112m).

The 28-year-old wore the No. 10 shirt at Chelsea but with that number occupied by Luka Modric, he has opted for the shirt that Ronaldo, Raul, Emilio Butragueno and others have worn at Madrid.

James Rodriguez, who used to wear the No. 10 shirt before his two-season loan to Bayern Munich, has returned to Madrid and has been given the No. 16 for the 2019-20 season.

Among Madrid’s other summer transfer arrivals, Eder Militao will wear No. 3, Ferland Mendy will take No. 23, Luka Jovic will wear No. 18 and Rodrygo the No. 27.

Gareth Bale, whose future is up in the air after manager Zinedine Zidane publicly wished for his departure, has again been given the No. 11.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who wore the No. 25 in his first season with the club, has switched to the No. 13 that he wore during his time at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid will face Roma in a friendly on Sunday before opening La Liga play next weekend with a game against Celta Vigo.