Is No 10 still the best, or No 41? The myths and maths of Premier League shirt numbers

While No 9s still score the most goals and No 1s try to stop them, trends have changed since the introduction of squad numbers in the early 1990s

How much is a shirt number worth? It costs £8 if you want two digits added to the back of Arsenal’s 2026-27 home shirt, whereas Manchester City add on £16 for customisation, whether you want a name as well as a number or not.

That is cheap compared to what baseball players decide among themselves. Juan Soto bought Brett Baty a $92,000 (£69,000) car in exchange for getting his preferred number (22) when he joined the New York Mets last year. But that’s baseball, where they allow players to wear ‘0’. Anything goes.

There’s a lot of choice in football, even if nobody has worn zero. According to Transfermarkt’s data, every number from one to 99 has been used at some point by at least one of the current Premier League clubs. Not until we go above 45 do we find a number that has been omitted by any of them. And it highlights how random these things can be once you reach the upper reaches of what is permitted, as Brentford and Manchester City have never had a No 46 but have issued a No 99 and No 98 respectively.

The weirdest anomaly is Chelsea not having had a player wear higher than No 81 when it seemed like they were making that many signings every summer. Or maybe the strangest state of affairs is at Everton, who are on to their second No 10 of the 2026-27 season when they haven’t got a No 7 or a No 9. Riddle me that, Toffees.

Fixed squad numbers are a relatively recent development within the history of football. Numbered shirts were first introduced in 1911, with the starting players normally wearing No 1 to No 11 until the 1990s. Iconic footballers have always gravitated towards the key numbers; Kenny Dalglish wore No 7 for Liverpool, bestowing immense value upon that shirt. But if he was unavailable, then someone else would wear it. These days, numbers may be more important to a given player than the club they represent. They become part of their brand.

Opta have data on Premier League goals scored by different shirts since 1993, when the competition introduced squad numbers. The top five are between seven and 11. Traditional numbers still carry the most weight. The standings thereafter are less obvious. Thierry Henry did some heavy lifting for No 14 but there have still been almost 1,300 goals from others who have worn the number. Thinking of players who contributed even a decent chunk towards the 1,100-plus goal tallies for the shirts between 17 and 20 is not easy.

Far more than goals determine player worth. Transfermarkt use the wisdom of crowds to establish a theoretical market value for every player based on numerous factors. It’s a guide, rather than definitively what a footballer would cost to buy from their current club.

With this data we can see which shirt numbers are the most valuable in the 2026-27 Premier League. There is no real pattern on an individual level. The 13 footballers who are believed to be worth at least €100m share 10 different numbers between them, with No 11 the most notable omission from the group. This wouldn’t have happened during Mohamed Salah’s peak.

There is also only one No 9 in the top eight, though Erling Haaland is the most valuable player in the Premier League. Despite João Pedro also being in the €100m club, the highest cumulative total market value (€766m) across the division belongs to No 10, ahead of No 9 (€752m) and No 7 (€683.5m). None of these shirts has the highest average, though. When it comes to valuing a number, take quality over quantity.

If you don’t support Chelsea, Manchester United or Newcastle, you probably can’t name the player who wears their number No 41 shirt. You might struggle even if you are a fan. But with Arsenal’s Declan Rice on hand to accompany Estêvão, Harry Amass and Jacob Ramsey respectively, No 41 has the highest average market value in the Premier League.

These standings would have been different in seasons past, with likely more than four of the traditional 1-11 in the top 10. At various points in 2018 or 2019, N’Golo Kanté and Raheem Sterling were estimated to be worth at least €100m while wearing No 7 shirts, with Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Sadio Mané of similarly high value when sporting No 10. But No 41 is the shirt number that is worth the most on average today, thanks largely to Rice.