The most intriguing retired shirt numbers in football - including ex-Man City and West Ham players

Like a lot of things, Pele did it first. Long before Carol Vorderman caused the nation to fall into a state of befuddled heartbreak by stepping down from Countdown (have we ever recovered?!), the Brazilian maestro was over in the Big Apple, retiring numbers while simultaneously bursting tear ducts like knackered fire hydrants.

It was October 1977 when the greatest goalscorer of all-time parted ways with NASL outfit New York Cosmos, and in recognition of his contribution to the club, they resolutely vowed that nobody would wear his iconic number 10 shirt ever again. To that end, they would keep their word too; the Cosmos ceased to exist in 1985.

Before Pele, the practice of retiring shirt numbers in football was essentially unheard of. Players themselves did not hold permanent squad numbers, and instead starting line-ups often wore designated kits that were numbered one to 11, based on position. But as that habit has changed, the tendency to pay tribute to certain figures by decomissioning their digits has grown. With that in mind, we’ve picked out some of the most interesting, and legendary, examples from footballing history below...

Bradley Wright-Phillips - New York Red Bulls

When ex-Manchester City striker Bradley Wright-Phillips left a journeyman’s career in the Football League to pursue a new venture in the MLS, few could have predicted the impact he would have stateside. In six years with New York Red Bulls, he would score over a century of goals, become the franchise’s most prolific player ever, and would quickly establish himself as one of the most recognisable names in American soccer.

In 2019, he took the difficult decision to leave New York, signing a deal with Los Angeles FC, but not before his famed number 99 shirt was retired. Prior to his own retirement from the professional game in 2022, Wright-Phillips put pen to paper on a one-day contract on the East Coast so that he could officially bow out as a Red Bull.

Pope John Paul II - Cracovia Krakow

When I was researching this article and came across the revelation that Pope John Paul II had the number one shirt at Polish club Cracovia Krakow retired in his honour, my immediate assumption was the the big fella must have had a spell in between the sticks before donning the old cassock. I even had a lovely little joke about collecting crosses lined up and everything.

Alas, however, the holy man never played for the club, but was, in fact, an avid supporter who received the honour during a private audience shortly before his death in 2005. As far as I’m aware, he is also the only canonised saint on this list too.

Adam Stansfield - Exeter City

Tragic and heartwarming in equal measure, the story behind Adam Stansfield’s number nine shirt is the stuff of goosebump-inducing Hollywood melodrama. In 2010, the cult Exeter City striker lost a battle with colorectal cancer and sadly passed away at the age of 31.

For over a decade, his number would lie dormant until his son, Jay, arrived at St. James Park on loan from Premier League side Fulham. The young forward went on to score nine goals in his dad’s famous jersey, including a hat-trick at home in his very last game for the club.

Paolo Maldini - AC Milan

After 25 years of devilishly handsome service, it was little surprise that AC Milan decided to retire their number three jersey when Paolo Maldini hung up his boots in 2009. There is, however, a caveat; Maldini himself has given permission for the club to bring the shirt back from the hallowed halls of folklore if, and only if, one of his offspring assumes its mantle.

Given that Maldini’s son, Daniel, is on the books at the San Siro, this could still happen, but we might have to wait a while longer to witness a little piece of history - the midfielder is currently out on loan at Empoli.

Jude Bellingham - Birmingham City

Look, we all laughed, and we were all wrong. When Birmingham City chiefs took the unprecedented decision to retire the number 22 shirt of teenager Jude Bellingham the entire footballing community collectively thought they had lost their minds. Their justification was that he was the club’s youngest ever first-team player and goalscorer, but the excuse felt a tad flimsy at best.

Now, however, a few years later, as the midfielder continues to carve out a reputation as one of the world’s most precocious talents while donning the famous white of Real Madrid, all we can do is hold our hands up and apologise. Sorry, Birmingham City - you were right all along.

Bobby Moore and Dylan Tombides - West Ham

A World Cup winning captain widely regarded as West Ham’s greatest-ever player, it is little wonder that Bobby Moore’s revered number six shirt was retired by the club posthumously. The defender, to this day, remains the pride of East London, and few are as deserving of recognition as he is.

But Moore is not the only Hammer to have his jersey retired by the club. In 2014, young striker Dylan Tombides lost a tragic battle with testicular cancer, and in honour of the Australian’s memory, West Ham no longer wear the number 38.

Diego Maradona - Napoli and Argentina

When you leaf through the list of professional footballers who have had their numbers retired, there are some who are considerably less surprising than others; take Ferenc Puskas at Budapest Honved, for instance, or Johan Cruyff at Ajax. Diego Maradona unequivocally falls under that umbrella.

In 2000, Napoli took the decision to retire their number 10 shirt in tribute to the diminutive genius, but perhaps the more intriguing case study involving Diego comes at international level. The following year, Argentina also retired their number 10 shirt, but were subsequently admonished by FIFA for doing so during the build-up to the 2002 World Cup. The South Americans made a reluctant about turn, and in years to come, the legendary jersey would be adopted by arguably the only man who has ever surpassed Maradona in his natural gifts with a ball at his feet.

Francesco Totti - AS Roma

They bloody love retiring a number over in Italy, but credit where it is due, if anybody deserves such an honour it is Francesco Totti. One of football’s last proper one-club men, the Italian playmaker never represented any side other than his beloved AS Roma, scoring 250 goals in 619 appearances and winning the 2006 World Cup for his country too.

There’s not a great deal else to say really, other than that it will be a long, long time before we see another like him. Maybe we never will again.

Rogerio Ceni - Sao Paulo

Rogerio Ceni was a truly unhinged footballing maverick; not only did he score over 100 career goals, despite being a goalkeeper, but he also once played a match with the number 618 on the back of his shirt. Alas, when the time came for him to hang up his gloves, it was the decidedly more conservative number one jersey that got framed and hung in Sao Paulo’s hall of fame.

A specialist from dead ball situations, Ceni was prolific when it came to both free-kicks and penalties, but even taking that anomalous quirk out of the equation, he was a legend of the Brazilian game. A quarter of a century with Sao Paulo, plus a spot in the victorious 2002 World Cup squad, surely would have been justification enough for his recognition; the glut of goals was merely a wonderfully bizarre bonus.