Bundesliga
New No.7 at Dortmund
Jobe Bellingham will wear the No.7 shirt for Borussia Dortmund in the coming season after the club announced their squad numbers on Thursday.
Bellingham, who joined Dortmund from newly promoted Premier League side Sunderland in June, inherits the jersey from Giovanni Reyna, who has been handed the No.21 shirt.
The No.7 jersey holds iconic status at Borussia, having previously been worn by some of the biggest names to have represented the club. USA international Reyna was given the shirt following the departure of England winger Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in 2021.
Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Ousmane Dembélé wore No.7 during his time at Signal Iduna Park during the 2016/17 campaign, while former incumbents also include Shinji Kagawa (2014/15), Robert Lewandowski (2010/11) and BVB’s ex-sporting director Michael Zorc (1982/83).
Bellingham wore No.77 at the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this summer, registering a goal and an assist in four appearances as Borussia reached the quarter-finals.
He also started Dortmund’s recent pre-season friendly victories over Sportfreunde Siegen and Lille.
“It feels like I signed a long time ago,” he recently told a media gathering at Dortmund’s pre-season training camp in Austria. “I already feel part of the team and the club, but I can’t wait for the games to start in Germany."
Watch: Jobe Bellingham settling in at BVB
Dortmund take on Serie A side Juventus in their final summer friendly on Sunday before travelling to Rot-Weiss Essen in the DFB Cup first round on Monday 18 August.
They begin their Bundesliga campaign away to St. Pauli on Saturday 23 August.