One Real Madrid player refused to take Zinedine Zidane's iconic number five despite being asked by the man himself

There is one player who top Real Madrid who refused to wear the number five shirt at the club despite Zinedine Zidane asking him to do so.

Throughout football, there are several players who become synonymous with their shirt number, creating a legacy that once they leave, any other player who puts on that shirt must live up to.

Thierry Henry with the the number 14 at Arsenal, Lionel Messi with the number 10 at Barcelona and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and the number seven at several different clubs are all examples of this very thing.

But there is one player who refused the opportunity to take on the mantle of the number five shirt at Real Madrid, but refused despite encouragement from Zinedine Zidane, the man who made the number his own.

Zidane is undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever to play for Real Madrid, and one of the best midfielders of all time.

The Frenchman made an incredible 227 appearances for the Spanish giants, scoring 49 goals and assisting 67 as he played a key role in winning several trophies including both La Liga and the Champions League.

Throughout his entire time in Madrid, Zidane wore only the number five, establishing himself as the most iconic player in the club's history every to wear the shirt.

Since then, several other players have worn the now iconic shirt, however, Kaka declined to do so when he joined Real Madrid in 2009, despite Zidane himself encouraging him having retired three years earlier.

Zinedine Zidane worn the iconic number five shirt at Real Madrid. (Image: Getty)

Explaining his reasoning to The Athletic, the Brazilian legend said: “I didn’t take the No 5, not because it used to be Zidane’s number but because, for Brazilians, that’s a number usually given to the more defensive players, just as it is for Argentines,

“That’s why I preferred to have the No 8 — a number I had when I started off at Sao Paulo.”

Instead, Fabio Cannavaro, another legend at Real Madrid, was the next player to wear the number five shirt for Los Blancos, while England superstar Jude Bellingham wears it in the current squad.