Former Chelsea star Mason Mount recently signed for Cristiano Ronaldo’s former club Manchester United. The player made a switch to the Manchester side on a reported deal of $69.8 million.
Mason Mount in an old interview with Chelsea revealed how he fell in love with Cristiano Ronaldo after seeing him playing. Mount recalled the incident that made him admire Ronaldo, “I think everyone has seen the video of when I was younger basing my freekick off him. I always watched him very closely when he was at United as a young kid. I loved the way he played, his freekicks.” (via Manchester Evening News).
“I’m a massive Pompey fan, so I went to the game when they played at Old Trafford and he scored that freekick against David James.”
Man United new number 7 Mason Mount’s idol is no one other than Cristiano Ronaldo.
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) July 5, 2023
He further added, “I was actually at the game, in the corner, so I saw it first-hand, and I think after that I kind of fell in love with the technique and what he’d done, and him as a player. So I always try to look at and work out, what can I do, to put it into my game?”
“But now to play against him and be up against him is the journey that you go on from watching someone in the stands as a fan and then to being on the same pitch and playing against them. It’s a crazy journey and yeah, that’s why I love football so much.”
Now the player will not only be playing for his idol’s former club but also will be inheriting his iconic number 7 shirt at the club.
Can Mason Mount avoid Manchester United’s number 7 curse?
Manchester United recently announced the signing of former Chelsea player Mason Mount. Furthermore, the club announced that the player would inherit the iconic number 7 shirt.
The number 7 shirt at Manchester United is one of the most iconic shirts at the club. The shirt was once worn by David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Eric Cantona. They are all considered club legends by the fans. Therefore, the number 7 shirt holds an important place at the club.
A bit surprised Mason Mount got the number 7 shirt. But no big deal, huge trust shown and a big responsibility to feel for next season 🔥👍🏽🔴
How excited are you for Mason Mount!? pic.twitter.com/KVY4ZuaeyQ
— Isiah Madrigal (@Realisiah1) July 5, 2023
The shirt, however, has lost its essence with time. Since Antonio Valencia, five players have inherited the number at the club. However, none of those players are still at the club. All of those players had failed to live up to the expectations of the iconic number.
Fans were usually disappointed with the failure of these signings. Hence, United fans have referred to the number 7 shirt as a ‘cursed’ shirt. However, Mason Mount would be hoping to avoid the alleged curse during his time at Manchester United.