Mansion Sports - Kevin De Bruyne’s arrival at Napoli has sparked widespread attention across the football world—an excitement that only grew after the Belgian midfielder was spotted wearing the most iconic shirt number in the club’s storied history. 

During a recent training session, De Bruyne was seen donning the number 10 jersey, a number forever linked with the legendary Diego Maradona.

De Bruyne Joins Napoli After Manchester City Exit

Kevin De Bruyne’s decision to join Napoli follows Manchester City’s policy not to offer him a contract extension, despite his status as one of the Premier League’s most revered figures.

At 34 years old, the Belgian chose the reigning Serie A champions as the next chapter in his career, making his move one of the most high-profile transfers of the summer.

Unlike many of his former teammates who continued competing with City in the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this month, De Bruyne opted out of the tournament. He later explained that his priority was to safeguard his fitness ahead of signing with a new club.

“I had to take care of myself. If I got injured during the Club World Cup, who would care about me afterward?” he remarked.

With an extended break giving him more recovery time, De Bruyne has already begun training with Napoli, where his arrival has been met with tremendous enthusiasm from supporters in Naples.

The Sacred Number 10: Between Legacy and Regulation

What captured public attention even more than his transfer was the jersey number De Bruyne wore during training—number 10. 

This number holds near-sacred significance at Napoli, as it was once worn by Diego Maradona, the man who led the club to its greatest heights in the late 1980s.

Maradona famously guided Napoli to their first-ever Serie A title in the 1986–87 season and repeated the feat in 1989–90. 

As a tribute, the club renamed their stadium “Stadio Diego Armando Maradona” following his passing in 2020.

Officially, Napoli retired the number 10 jersey in 2006—well before Maradona’s death—as a mark of eternal respect. 

Retiring shirt numbers is an uncommon practice in football, making Napoli’s decision all the more poignant. 

The last player recorded to wear the number in an official match was Mariano Bogliacino, during a Supercoppa fixture in Italy’s lower division in the early 2000s. 

At the time, the club was required to activate the number due to Serie C1 regulations mandating players to wear numbers 1 through 11.

Will Napoli Reactivate the Number 10?

Although Kevin De Bruyne has been seen in training wearing the number 10, it is highly unlikely that Napoli will officially reactivate the jersey for competitive matches. 

The usage appears to be symbolic, rather than an indication of any formal reversal of the club’s longstanding decision to retire the number.

Despite De Bruyne’s status as one of the most accomplished midfielders of his generation, the emotional and historical weight carried by the number 10 at Napoli is arguably too significant to be reassigned—even to a player of his caliber.

Still, the visual of De Bruyne in a number 10 Napoli shirt has sparked widespread speculation and admiration. 

It raises a compelling question: could he be the only player in over two decades to wear Maradona’s revered number, even if only on the training ground?

With intense focus already surrounding his move to Italy, Kevin De Bruyne’s journey at Napoli is set to be one of the defining narratives of the season—both on and off the pitch.