Real Madrid have been doing a bit of shuffling around with their squad numbers, and Los Blancos have swiftly moved to give another player the vacated No.10 shirt left by James Rodriguez.
After struggling for regular game-time at the Bernabeu under Zinedine Zidane last season, the Colombian captain has joined Bayern Munich on a two-year loan with an option to buy - linking up again with Carlo Ancelotti, the man who signed him for Real Madrid three years ago.
Image: PA
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Rodriguez's departure frees up the iconic shirt number, and instead of giving it to one of the four new arrivals - Theo Hernandez, Borja Mayoral, Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos, Real have handed the shirt to midfield metronome Luka Modric.
Image: PA
Coming off an uber consistent campaign in which he played an integral part in the club's La Liga and Champions League success, the Croatian has swapped No.19 for No.10, the number he wears for his country, for the forthcoming season, as the official Real Madrid website has shown.
Modric has arguably become the best midfielder in the world since leaving Tottenham for Real in 2012, and Real fans are hopeful he can end the 'curse' that has come with number ten shirt in recent times:
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The likes of Luis Figo, Ferenc Puskas, Michael Laudrup, Clarence Seedorf, Robinho, Wesley Sneijder and Mesut Ozil have all wore No.10 on their backs at the Bernabeu, and now Modric joins that class.
With a change of shirt number, will Modric go up another level next season?
Sound off in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Real MadridTopics: Real Madrid, Luka Modric
