Report: Messi’s #10 jersey to remain vacant for the upcoming season

According to reports from SPORT, Barcelona prefer the number 10 jersey to remain unoccupied throughout the 2021–22 season.

The Spanish media outlet further adds that if someone needs to take up the legendary number, it would be reserved for a player who came up through the ranks of the club’s academy.

The #10 has a vibrant history and unsurmountable legacy at Barcelona. Several high-profile names have embraced the jersey in the past, however, Lionel Messi took its prestige to a new level.

In his 778 games for Barcelona, the club’s last number 10 scored a whopping 672 goals and back 305 assists in the process. Quite simply put, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to replicate that level of success at the club.

Understandably, inheriting the jersey comes with a large amount of pressure and expectation.

Earlier this week, Gerard Pique offered the number to Lionel Messi’s international teammate Sergio Aguero. The Argentine, however, politely declined the offer, possibly for the same reason as mentioned above.

Recent reports also suggested that Philippe Coutinho was the latest to have been offered the jersey. However, that seems to be a matter of the past now.

Barcelona could consider leaving the legendary number vacant for a season. It would be a wise decision, keeping pressure away from the inheritor as well as a tribute to their greatest player ever.

Though many players have come out from the youth ranks in the last season, very few fit the natural position that a number 10 correlates to. That said, Ansu Fati would be the primary choice.