This summer, FC Barcelona will debut a new shirt with which several of its players will wear new numbers starting in August. The most talked about change, logically, will be that of Lamine Yamal, who will leave the '19' to wear the '10' that Ansu Fati leaves vacant.
The player from Mataró formally assumes the weight of becoming the great star of a Barça that aspires to win everything in 2026. Now that he is 18 years old and his contract has been renewed until 2031, the winger is ready to lead a squad full of talent and with 'top' reinforcements in defense and attack.
In this way, Lamine will become the seventh Barça player to wear the '10' on his back in the 21st century. How did the last ten culés who wore the mythical number fare? We review it below.
Romário (1993-95): Brazilian magic in the 'Dream team'
The Brazilian star arrived in Barcelona in 1993 and became the ideal '9' for the 'Dream team' led by Johan Cruyff. In his first season he scored 32 goals and 8 assists in 47 games, winning LaLiga and reaching the Champions League final.
However, after winning the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, physical problems and his controversial nightlife undermined his performance, while his relationship with the club quickly deteriorated.
In the middle of 94/95, Romário left the Blaugrana team, leaving a balance of 39 goals and 11 assists in 65 official matches. Pep Guardiola and the Romanian Gheorghe Hagi alternated the '10' in the final stretch of that season, the last without fixed numbers in LaLiga.
Ángel Cuéllar (1995-96): first '10' with a fixed number
The player from Badajoz was the first Barça player to wear the '10' shirt for an entire season, already with fixed numbers from 95/96. In two seasons, Cuéllar played 34 official matches in which he scored 4 goals. In 1996 he left the '10' number to the Brazilian Giovanni Silva.
Giovanni Silva (1996-99): a very productive '10'
The South American striker was at the club for three years, playing a total of 109 matches in which he scored 39 goals. With Barça he won two Ligas and two Copas del Rey before leaving for Olympiacos, where he became a legend after spending six years in Greek football.
Jari Litmanen (1999-00): failed signing
With the departure of Giovanni, Barça opted for the Finnish Jari Litmanen, a figure of Ajax, as one of its star signings of the summer of 1999. However, his performance was disappointing, scoring just 4 goals in 33 official appearances. Louis van Gaal placed him as an attacking midfielder, but injuries significantly conditioned his level. In 2001 he left for Liverpool on a free transfer.
Rivaldo: (2000-02): a great '10' in a complicated period
The Brazilian had arrived at Barça in 1997, becoming one of the figures of the team since his first season. After three seasons wearing the '11' on his back, he inherited Litmanen's '10' in his last two years in Catalonia.
In five seasons, Rivaldo played 235 matches in which he was able to score 130 goals. Although he won two Ligas and one Copa del Rey between 1998 and 1999, he was later the star of a team that spent five years without winning anything despite wasting hundreds of millions of euros on insignificant reinforcements.
Juan Román Riquelme (2002-03): fleeting star in the culé sky
The Argentine arrived in 2002 with the mission of emulating Diego Maradona, but his time at Barça was very gray. Riquelme came from shining at Boca, winning two Copas Libertadores, but his bad relationship with Van Gaal sentenced his departure after only one year at the club.
In his only season, Juan Román scored 6 goals and 10 assists in 42 official matches. The culés paid 11 million euros for his transfer and, after two years on loan, Villarreal paid 8 'kilos' for his transfer in 2005.
Ronaldinho (2003-08): precursor of a golden era
After Riquelme's loan to Villarreal in the summer of 2003, Joan Laporta opted for Ronaldinho as the great figure of his project. The president wanted David Beckham, but the Englishman opted for Real Madrid. In the end, the operation was a great success for Barça.
The Brazilian became the leader of a team reinforced in all its lines in the summer of 2004 that won two Ligas and one Champions League in 2006. Although his level plummeted in 07/08 and his departure from the club was stormy, 'Dinho' began the golden era of Barça in the 21st century, becoming the second Blaugrana Ballon d'Or and the great reference of Leo Messi.
Leo Messi (2008-21): the best '10' in history
'La Pulga', in his fourth season with the first team, took the Brazilian's '10' in the summer of 2008. Ronaldinho's departure coincided with the arrival of Pep Guardiola to the bench and the Rosario native became the best player on the planet, leading a Barça that won the treble in 2009.
After that, there were 12 years of successes and records with the mythical number until he became the best footballer in the history of the club and world football. He won six of his eight Ballon d'Ors as a Barcelona player, where he scored 672 goals and 269 assists in 778 official matches, in addition to lifting 35 titles.
Ansu Fati: (2021-24/25): the 'heir' punished by injuries
Ansu Fati inherited Messi's '10' in 2021, during the worst financial and sporting crisis of the 21st century for Barça. Although the player from Bisáu was excited with his talent and personality in his first season, injuries severely punished him between 2020 and 2022. Finally, the winger left on loan to Brighton in 2023 and, after a fairly poor year, returned to the club in 2024.
However, between new physical problems and lack of attitude in training, he became Hansi Flick's only fixed discard in attack throughout the season. His departure to Monaco, again on loan, seems to confirm his definitive farewell to Barça, after 123 official appearances in which he scored 29 goals and 8 assists.
Lamine Yamal (2025): the great star of a brilliant generation
Finally, after Ansu's farewell, Lamine Yamal will become the new '10' of Barça. Before reaching adulthood, the club made him its new great reference thanks to his meteoric rise to the world elite. The player from Mataró already boasts four official titles with the club and a European Championship in his showcases with just 17 years old.
In addition, he has broken practically all the precocity records in the Blaugrana team, where he already has 24 goals and 32 assists in 106 official matches (three seasons, two of them complete).
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