While it had long been suspected that a switch of squad number was imminent, Real Madrid have confirmed that star striker Kylian Mbappé will be pulling on the club's revered No. 10 shirt for the 2025-26 season.
After sources told ESPN on July 22 that the 26-year-old France international would be switching from the No. 9 he wore in his debut campaign at the Bernabéu, the man himself effectively confirmed the news the following day with a succinct post on X which simply read "10."
Mbappé was the club's top goal scorer in all competitions with 44 goals in 59 games last season wearing the equally iconic No. 9, with that haul earning him the first European Golden Shoe of his career. However, the striker has worn the No. 10 shirt with Les Bleus for many years, although he wore the No. 7 at former club Paris Saint-Germain as first Neymar and then Ousmane Dembélé occupied le numéro dix.
He will therefore take up the shirt which has been vacated by Luka Modric after the playmaker ended his long and wildly successful 13-year run at Madrid for a transfer to AC Milan earlier this month.
Of course, the No. 10 shirt carries with it a deep and historic significance at Real Madrid, with some of the club's biggest and most legendary names having worn it. So stacked is the roster of former that there isn't even room in this rundown of the 10 most iconic No. 10s for the likes of Günter Netzer, Manuel Velázquez, Wesley Sneijder and James Rodríguez, who will all have to make do with these most sincerest of honorable mentions.
- Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid: One month in, what do we know?
- As Yamal gets new number, who are greatest players to wear Barça's No. 10?
1. Raymond Kopa
Kopa first caught Real Madrid's eye when his performance for France against Spain in 1955 earned him the nickname "Little Napoleon," and the following year he joined Los Blancos after losing the first-ever European Cup final to them while playing for Stade de Reims. He quickly became an integral part of that all-conquering Madrid team that would go on to win three European Cups and two LaLiga titles before the end of the decade. A squat and skilful inside forward, Kopa saw his formidable form rewarded with the Ballon d'Or in 1958, before finishing runner-up in 1959 behind teammate Alfredo Di Stefano. His name now bears the trophy awarded at the Ballon d'Or gala to the best player under 21.
2. Ferenc Puskas
Alongside Kopa and Di Stefano, Puskas has gone down in history as one of the very finest footballers ever to have donned the Real Madrid shirt (wearing the No. 10 regularly between 1958 and 1964). Despite only signing for the Spanish giants at the comparatively old age of 31, the Hungarian colossus helped drive the club to instant success by winning three European Cups, five consecutive LaLiga titles and four Pichichi awards as the league's top scorer. Having netting 242 goals in just 262 games, the Galloping Major is still sixth on Madrid's all-time goal chart despite retiring in 1966.
3. Uli Stielike
Stielike first came to prominence as part of the famous Borussia Monchengladbach side that cantered to three consecutive Bundesliga titles and the UEFA Cup in the mid-to-late 1970s. The deep-lying midfielder then moved to Madrid for the 1977-78 season and promptly won the LaLiga title in his debut year in Spanish football. Hard-working and intelligent, Stielike wore the vaunted No.10 jersey between 1979 and 1983 during which he was voted LaLiga's Best Foreign Player four times in a row. Stielike's trophy-laden run at the Bernabéu culminated with the 1984-85 UEFA Cup, after which he signed for Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax.
4. Gheorghe Hagi
One of the most gifted attacking midfielders of his generation, Hagi made the leap from Romanian football to the bright lights of Real Madrid after turning heads at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. A decent first season was followed by a much more productive second, but still Madrid failed to find much success during what was a relatively low ebb for the club. Hagi left Spain after losing to Atlético Madrid in the 1991-92 Copa del Rey final and joined Brescia, where he was reunited with several of his national teammates under Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu. After a two-year spell at Barcelona, Hagi enjoyed the most successful years of his career at Galatasaray while also leading his country to the knockout phases of the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
5. Fernando Hierro
Seventh on the list of all-time appearance makers for Madrid, Hierro is more synonymous with the No. 6 shirt but the famously versatile midfielder also wore both No. 9 and No. 10 during the 1990s. Indeed, the No. 10 was briefly handed to Hierro for the 1991-92 season following the departure of Hagi. Playing in a more advanced role, Hierro scored a hugely impressive 25 goals in all competitions, but it wasn't enough to prevent Los Blancos from going trophyless for the second successive campaign.
6. Michael Laudrup
Having already established himself as one of Barcelona's most enduring No. 10s during Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team" era, Laudrup made the controversial decision to move directly to their eternal foes in 1994. Having languished behind Barça for many years, Madrid were resurgent in Laudrup's first season and claimed the league title (the Dane's fifth in a row). His second season proved less spectacular, and he moved to Vissel Kobe in Japan but nevertheless he is still revered as one of Los Blancos (and Barça's) greatest-ever talents.
7. Clarence Seedorf
Skilful, poised and combative in equal measure, the Netherlands international spent three-and-a-half seasons at the Bernabéu during early stages of the "Galácticos" era. He won both the Champions League and LaLiga within his first two years at the club with the No. 10 on his back. Despite being a staple of the midfield between 1996 and 1999, Seedorf found game time hard to come by under compatriot Guus Hiddink in 1999-00 and decided to leave part way through the season to return to Italian football with Inter Milan.
8. Luis Figo
Having worn the No. 7 at Barcelona, Figo was anointed as Madrid's new No. 10 when he completed his infamous world-record transfer across the Clásico divide in 2000. The Portugal forward was awarded that year's Ballon d'Or (largely for his performances with Barça) and then won LaLiga in his debut season at the Bernabéu before claiming the Champions League the following season. For all the silverware, goals and silky link-up play, Figo's five-year stint at Los Blancos will largely be defined by the raucously hostile reception he received every time he returned to Camp Nou, with fans of his former side jeering, whistling and of course pelting Figo with anything they could get their hands on.
9. Mesut Özil
Özil spent four years lighting up the Bundesliga, first with hometown club Schalke 04 and then Werder Bremen, before Real Madrid came calling after the elegant midfielder had starred for Germany at the 2010 World Cup. His debut season at the Bernabéu was a triumph with fans regularly affording ovations to a creative maverick who pitched in with 25 assists in all competitions. Özil then switched to the No. 10 shirt for the 2011-12 campaign, with coach José Mourinho deploying him as playmaker-in-chief behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín as Madrid powered to the LaLiga title. Özil lasted one more year at Madrid (finishing as top assist provider once again) before joining Arsenal.
10. Luka Modric
The man who squeezed Özil out of the frame at Madrid, Modric first arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 and quickly established himself as an indispensable midfield maestro. The Croatian had already won two LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues before inheriting the No. 10 shirt from James in 2017. He wore it for the remainder of his vastly successful tenure at the Bernabéu, winning just about all there was to win in the meantime. Modric was also wearing the No. 10 when he officially became the Spanish club's oldest-ever player by taking to the field for his swansong against Paris Saint-Germain at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at the grand old age of 39 years and 303 days.