It’ll take some adjusting to seeing Lionel Messi in a brand new membership jersey. He’ll even be donning a brand new quantity after his swap to French membership PSG.

For years Messi wore the No. 10 shirt for FC Barcelona in Spain. With the transfer to France, the 34-year-old free agent famous person might be making a change, sporting the No. 30 shirt.

There is a significance behind this choice and it has nothing to do with NBA star Steph Curry.

Why is Messi sporting No. 30 at PSG?

Messi wore the No. 30 at Barcelona when he first broke into the senior workforce as a teenager within the 2004-2005 season.

He really wore the No. 30 for his first two seasons, earlier than switching to the No. 19 jersey within the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 campaigns, biding his time whereas Brazilian star Ronaldinho graced the No. 10 shirt.

Ronaldinho vacated the No. 10 when he moved to AC Milan in 2008, permitting Messi to graduate to the Barcelona No. 10 jersey in 2008-2009. He wouldn’t give it up for 13 full seasons.

Another excuse Messi did not go for the No. 10 at PSG: It is presently worn by Messi’s pal and ex-Barcelona teammate Neymar. Studies said that the Brazilian had even gone so far as providing his shirt to the Argentine, however Messi declined the gesture.

The No. 19 can also be worn by PSG’s Spanish midfielder Pablo Sarabia. Along with sporting it for 2 seasons with Barcelona, Messi had donned the No. 19 jersey in his youthful days taking part in for the Argentina nationwide workforce.

It is within the No. 30 that Messi will hope to make historical past at PSG: “Every thing in regards to the membership matches my soccer ambitions,” he mentioned. “I understand how proficient the squad and the teaching employees are right here. I’m decided to assist construct one thing particular for the membership and the followers, and I’m wanting ahead to stepping out onto the pitch on the Parc des Princes.”

Barcelona cannot retire the No. 10 shirt

It was Ronaldinho’s sneakers that Messi needed to fill when the legendary Brazilian departed in 2008, and it is protected to say that Messi went above and past.

Ronaldinho himself insisted the La Liga facet mustn’t enable one other participant to put on the No. 10 after Messi — albeit he mentioned this with retirement in thoughts, not within the occasion of Messi signing for one more European facet.

“When Messi retires, which I hope might be a very long time from now, they need to go away the No. 10 there in order that no one can contact it once more,” Ronaldinho mentioned in 2018.

However Ronaldinho wasn’t apparently conscious of La Liga guidelines (web page 5 of the competitors guidelines ), which require every workforce’s 25-man roster to make use of numbers 1 by 25 with the No. 1, No. 13 and No. 25 jerseys reserved for goalkeepers. Any academy or affiliate gamers that be part of a membership in the course of the season put on numbers starting with No. 26.