Retiring a player's number usually occurs after the player has left the team or retired. It honours a player who has meant so much to his club that they retire the shirt number that the player wore during their time there, meaning no other player is permitted to use that number in the future.. Association football clubs around the world sometimes retire squad numbers to recognise players' loyal service, sometimes as a memorial after their death.


1. Paolo Maldini
1984–2009
Left back,

Ac Milan

The shirt was not fully retired. Maldini has given consent for his sons to adopt the number 3 shirt if either of them play professionally for the club.

2. Aldair 1990–2003
Centre-back
As Roma

The shirt number had been retired by the club when the player left the club in 2003. When Kevin Strootman joined Roma in 2013, he asked for permission to wear number 6. The club approved the request after Aldair gave his consent.

3. Stanislav Vlček
Striker 2004-2007, 2009-2013

Rather than retiring the number, the club opted to freeze the number for any future player that wants it, provided that the applying player meets 7 game achievements. Among those are scoring 3 goals overall against Sparta, being nominated for his national team, winning the trophy for top goalscorer and others. Even though Milan Škoda met the requirements in 2016-17 season, he opted to keep his number 21. The 7 was eventually given to Danny upon him joining the team for 2017-18 season. Vlček gave his consent and Danny pledged to work to meet the remaining criteria.

4. Diego Maradona
Midfielder 1979–1994

The number 10 had been retired by Argentine Football Association in October 2001 to honour Maradona. Before the 2002 World Cup, the AFA submitted a squad list of 23 players for the tournament, listed 1 through 24, with the number 10 omitted. FIFA rejected Argentina's list, and the governing body's president, Sepp Blatter suggested the number 10 shirt be instead given to the team's third-choice goalkeeper, Roberto Bonano. AFA ultimately submitted a revised list with Ariel Ortega, originally listed as number 23, as the number 10.[48] The number 10 has been worn by other players since, most notably by Lionel Messi , whom Maradona considers his "successor."

5. Norrie McCathie

Dunfermline Athletic
Defender 1981–1996
The club retired the number after club captain McCathie was found dead in his home on 8 January 1996, as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. At that time, Scottish League clubs used shirt numbered from 1 to 11, so for the remainder of the 1995–96 season, 12 was used instead. However, the number was not retired permanently, and has been re-issued since.

6. Igor Protti
Livorno
Striker 1985–1988, 1999–2005

In December 2005, Livorno officially retired the #10 jersey. However, Protti, who led the forward line and captained his side in two promotions from Serie C1 to Serie A, quickly gaining a reputation as a fan favourite, announced his willingness to see the #10 number reissued to another player, in order to "give anybody back a dream to dress it one day." This was made effective starting from the 2007–08 season, in which
Francesco Tavano played with the #10 number.

7. Adam Stansfield
Forward 2006–2010
The club retired the number 9 for nine seasons after the striker died of cancer on 10 August 2010.

8. Meni Levi
Defender –2007
During a game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem, Levi chest-controlled and kicked the ball, ran back to defend, then collapsed. He returned to his feet, and then collapsed a second time. He was subsequently on a life-support machine, and has since returned home. The club claims that the number 12 is unofficially reserved for the fans... Levi was treated for years in Beit Levinstein, and later on returned to his family house in a vegetative state .

To this day Meni is being visited by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, players and management several times a year. Meni sometimes interacts with them with smiles, blinks and tears.

9. Phil O'Donnell
Midfielder 1990–1994, 2004–2007

Phil O'Donnell collapsed while playing for Motherwell against Dundee United in 2007. He was later pronounced dead at Wishaw General Hospital. The number 10 shirt was worn by his nephew David Clarkson during the 2008-09 season. Since Clarkson left in June 2009, it has not been retired, but has not been issued to any subsequent player.

10. Antonio Puerta
Left back, Sevilla
Left winger 2004–2007
The shirt has not been fully retired. It was temporarily retired after Puerta died of a cardiac arrest on the first matchday in La Liga 2007–2008 However, the Spanish Football Federation rules state that clubs must use number 1 to 25 for their regular squad, and as a result, David Prieto wore the number in 2008 in honour of his friend.

11. Aaron Flahavan
Goalkeeper 1994–2001.
Following Flahavan's death in a car accident in August 2001, Portsmouth and his first club,
Southampton, retired their number 1 shirts for the 2001-02 season as a mark of respect. From the 2003-04 season, Portsmouth retired the number 13 shirt, as this was the number Flahavan wore during the majority of his time at the club. Number 13 remained unused until 2011, when it was allocated to goalkeeper
Stephen Henderson, and it has been reissued since.

12. Valeri Popovitch
FC.Haka
Forward 1994–2008
First ever retired shirt number in the history of Finnish football is ex-Haka's Valeri Popovitch's number 14. Popovitch has stated that his sons, who are still playing for Haka's junior teams, can wear the legendary number if they want.

13. Lesley Manyathela. Nicknamed Slow poison
Orlando Pirates
Striker 2000−2003

The club retired the number 22, after Manyathela died in a car crash in August, 2003. However, confederation of African Football rules state that shirts must be numbered 1–30 in continental club competitions, so Pirates has been re-issued it in those special cases.

14. Ramón Morales

C.D. Guadalajara
Midfielder 1998–2011, 2013– (as part of the coaching staff).

The shirt was never officially retired, but it was not issued out of American competitions for the time between Morales' exit and his return as a coach. All players intending to wear the jersey have to ask for Morales' consent. It is now being worn by Jesús Aldo De Nigris since he has received Morales' approval.