Alexis Sanchez seems to be the latest player suffering from the No 7 curse at Manchester United.
The Chile star is currently enduring the worst run of his career and was even left out of the squad by Jose Mourinho at the weekend after the United boss subsided to calls for him to be dropped from supporters.
Sanchez was also hooked with a quarter of the game still left to play during Tuesday’s Champions League draw with Valencia and looks to be a shell of the player that lit up the Premier League with Arsenal.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the last player to succeed wearing the No 7 shirt at Manchester United
Alexis Sanchez is the latest player to fall victim to the No 7 curse at the Old Trafford club
But the 29-year-old is not the only player in recent years to have struggled at United after being handed the No 7 shirt.
Five players have donned the iconic shirt since Cristiano Ronaldo left United for Real Madrid in 2009 and all of them have failed to hit the heights of their predecessors.
As well as Ronaldo, the shirt has connotations with United legends such as George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, which understandably brings another dimension of pressure.
Angel Di Maria also wore the shirt during his spell at United and failed to hit the heights
LAST FIVE PLAYERS TO WEAR NO 7
(In the Premier League)
Michael Owen:
31 appearances, 5 goals
Antonio Valencia:
30 appearances, 1 goal
Angel Di Maria:
27 appearances, 3 goals
Memphis Depay:
33 appearances, 2 goals
Alexis Sanchez:
17 appearances, 2 goals
Sanchez is the latest player struggling to cope with that burden, but the four players to wear the shirt before him did not fare any better.
Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay all failed to make the No 7 their own at United.
Between them all – including Sanchez – the five players have only scored 13 Premier League goals in a combined 138 games wearing the shirt.
While Ronaldo – who originally rejected the No 7 when he joined United in 2003 – netted 68 times during the six years he wore the shirt at Old Trafford.
Considering Depay and Di Maria have since gone on to shine in France and given the form Sanchez has shown this season – and indeed since he moved to the club from Arsenal in January – there may just be a case for the No 7 curse.
