Marco Asensio was hailed as the natural heir to Cristiano Ronaldo's No.7 shirt when the five-time Ballon d'Or departed for Juventus in a £99 million move, but the Spaniard has another shirt number in mind.
Mariano Diaz, in his second stint with Los Blancos after re-signing from Lyon, is currently sporting the iconic No.7 vacated by Ronaldo and has already banged in a worldie goal that the Portugal captain would be proud of.
Asensio, who has wore the No.20 with distinction since arriving from RCD Mallorca, revealed he was not offered the No.7 in the summer when Ronaldo left the Santiago Bernabeu.
"They didn't offer me the No. 7," he said after scoring his first goal of the season in the 1-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday.
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"The club never said anything to me about it and I didn't have the chance to decide."
However, it doesn't seem to faze the 22-year old - that being because he quite fancies taking on the No.10, currently occupied by midfield maestro Luka Modric, at some point in the future.
"It's a number I always liked," he added.
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"But now it's in good hands. In the future I would like it."
It echoes recent comments from Asensio, who stressed he doesn't want to finish his career wearing #20 for club and country.
"I don't want to end my career still wearing the No.20 shirt - I think that explains everything about how I feel," he told Panenka magazine.
"Would I like to change it? Of course, we'll see what happens."
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He also touched on his start to the season and filling the void left by Ronaldo.
"With or without Cristiano, I've been approaching the new season full of hope, with the intention of holding down a regular place in the side and playing a more important role.
"That seems to be happening - I've started the season well and I'm working well."
Topics: Football News, Football, Marco Asensio, Spain, Real Madrid, La Liga
