Jose Mourinho instructed a player to “move on” when he requested the No.7 shirt upon joining Chelsea.
In the summer of 2007, despite Liverpool’s interest, Chelsea acquired French winger Florent Malouda for £13 million.
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The Ligue One Player of the Year inked a three-year deal, stepping in as a replacement for Arjen Robben, who departed for Real Madrid in the same transfer window for £24 million.
Malouda excelled at Lyon donning the No.7 jersey and aimed to do the same at Stamford Bridge.
However, with Andriy Shevchenko holding the number, Mourinho’s reply was prompt and concise.
“My first conversation with Jose Mourinho was great. I was so relieved to have got the green light to travel to London to finalise my contract,” Malouda told Ladbrokes in 2022.
“We talked for a while about which number I was going to wear. In France, I wore the number seven shirt, so I asked Jose about the availability of that. He said ‘No, Sheva [Andriy Shevchenko] is number seven. Forget about it.”
The shirt number did open up the next summer when Shevchenko returned to AC Milan on loan, but it remained vacant until Ramires claimed it upon his arrival from Benfica in 2010.
Malouda, on the other hand, donned the No.15 throughout his time at Chelsea, a number previously worn by his former Guingamp teammate Didier Drogba.
“[I asked Mourinho] Which numbers are available, then?” Malouda continued.
“[He told me] ‘Your brother Didier wore number 15 for a couple of seasons when he arrived before he changed to number 11, so why don’t you wear that? Take your brother’s number’.”
Malouda made 228 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 45 goals and securing victories in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
However, he was let go in 2013 following a season where he was relegated to training with the Under 21 squad.
