I wanted to be the next David Beckham for Chelsea but Jose Mourinho told me to ‘forget it’ – Former Chelsea star reveals
Jose Mourinho leapt to the defence of Andriy Shevchenko when one new Chelsea star wanted to take the iconic number seven shirt
Jose Mourinho told Florent Malouda to ‘forget about it’ when he asked to take the number seven shirt from Andriy Shevchenko upon signing signing for Chelsea. The Blues signed the winger from Olympique Lyonnais in July 2007 for around £13million, signing a three-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
Malouda, who had just won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award, was brought in to replace Arjen Robben following his switch to Real Madrid in the same window. The France international donned the number 10 shirt for Les Gones, scoring ten goals and providing nine assists in his final season at the club.
But after securing his dream move to Chelsea, he wanted to sport a new number. In an interview with Ladbrokes in 2022, as quoted by SportBible, Malouda revealed he asked Mourinho for the seven shirt – just like David Beckham – before he was quickly shutdown.
“My first conversation with Jose Mourinho was great. I was so relieved to have got the green light to travel to London to finalise my contract,” said the Frenchman. “We talked for a while about which number I was going to wear.
“In France, I wore the number seven shirt, so I asked Jose about the availability of that. He said ‘No, Sheva [Andriy Shevchenko] is number seven. Forget about it.”
The number seven became available a year later when Shevchenko returned to AC Milan on loan, but Malouda stood by his new number 15 shirt. The former Chelsea ace added: “[I asked Mourinho] Which numbers are available, then?
“[He told me] ‘Your brother Didier wore number 15 for a couple of seasons when he arrived before he changed to number 11, so why don’t you wear that? Take your brother’s number’.”
Malouda went on to feature 229 times for Chelsea, scoring 45 goals and providing 41 assists, while lining his cabinets with lots of silverware. The Frenchman helped the Blues get their hands on a maiden Champions League honour, a Premier League title and three FA Cups.