List of retired numbers in association football


clubs around the world sometimes retire squad numbers to recognise players' loyal service, most as a memorial after their death.

Background

This practice, long established in the major North American sports, is a recent development in football since squad numbers for specific players were not widely used until the 1990s. Before then, it was typical for players in the starting lineup to be issued numbers 1 to 11 by formation/position on a match-by-match basis, and substitutes to be numbered from 12 upwards, meaning a player might wear different numbers during the season if they were to play in different positions for tactical reasons, or simply not be a regular in the starting lineup.
Nevertheless, in the American league NASL, players always wore permanent numbers since its inception in 1967. Moreover, Pelé's #10 was retired by the New York Cosmos during the farewell of the Brazilian star in 1977, probably becoming the first number ever retired in association football.
Mexico was pioneer country in the use of permanent numbers in football, being adopted in Primera División in the 1980s.
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. In some cases, such as those of Jason Mayélé, Vittorio Mero, Marc-Vivien Foé, Miklós Fehér, Ray Jones, Dylan Tombides, François Sterchele, David di Tommaso, Antonio Puerta, Besian Idrizaj, Piermario Morosini and Davide Astori, numbers have been retired to posthumously honour a player who died while still active. Also, Norwegian club Fredrikstad retired Dagfinn Enerly's number following an on-pitch accident that left him paralysed. In Britain, only Bobby Moore's, Jack Lester's and Jude Bellingham's shirt numbers have been retired due to great service to the club as opposed to a tragic incident. Although it has not been officially retired, Gianfranco Zola's No. 25 shirt has not been reissued by Chelsea since he left the club in 2003.
The Argentina, Ecuador and Cameroon national teams have been prevented from retiring the numbers of Diego Maradona, Christian Benítez and Marc-Vivien Foé, respectively, by FIFA rules dealing with squad numbers for Finals tournaments; in other competitions, qualifiers or friendlies, national associations may assign numbers according to criteria of their choosing. Similarly, several clubs have been required to reissue retired numbers for continental club competitions due to squad numbering rules of continental confederations. For example, CAF and CONMEBOL have such rules in their club competitions, but CONCACAF does not.
Some South American teams have occasionally had to re-issue their retired numbers for special cases due to CONMEBOL rules, which state that shirts must be numbered 1–25 in continental club competitions.

Retired numbers

TeamNo.PlayerPos.CareerNotes
JS Kabylie9 Albert Ebossé BodjongoForwardposthumous
Valletta Football Club7Gilbert AguisMidfielder1990–2013Club's Legend. Still serves today as an assistant coach of the senior team.
Rapid Wien5 Peter SchöttelDefender1986–2001His number was temporarily retired for at least 10 years. In 2013, it was reactivated and given to Thanos Petsos.
Rapid Vienna11 Steffen HofmannMidfielder2002–2018Retired for at least 11 years
Red Bull Salzburg26 Jonathan SorianoStriker2012–2017Club's Legend
SK Sturm Graz3 Günther NeukirchnerDefender1989–2006
Sturm Graz7 Mario HaasStriker1993–2012
SV Ried27 Sanel KuljicStriker2003–2006
Anorthosis Famagusta14 Temur KetsbaiaMidfielder1991–1994
2002–2009
Club Brugge23 François StercheleStriker2007–2008posthumous
OH Leuven13 Bjorn RuytinxStriker2004–2014Club's Legend
UR Namur3 Michel SoulierDefender1967–1977posthumous
Palmeiras12 MarcosGoalkeeper1993–2012For goalkeepers only. Outfield players have wore the number since his retirement.
São Paulo01 Rogério CeniGoalkeeper1990–2015His number was retired on 12 December 2015, when he retired from football. The number '1' may still be used, but the iconic '01', which is an inverted '10', is retired.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv8 Hristo BonevMidfielder1963–1967
1968–1979
1982–1984		Club Legend
Ludogorets Razgrad84 MarcelinhoMidfielder2011–2020Club Legend
Montreal Impact20 Mauro BielloForward1993–1998
2000–2009
Cobreloa8 Fernando CornejoMidfielder1992–1997
2000–2004		posthumous
Beijing Enterprises24 Cheick TiotéMidfielder2017posthumous
Chengdu Blades18 Yao XiaStriker2005–2010
Dalian Shide26 Zhang YalinMidfielder2000–2009posthumous
Dalian Transcendence17 Wang RenlongStriker2014posthumous
Alajuelense20 Mauricio MonteroDefender1985–1997
Cartaginés11 Leonel HernándezWinger1957–1977
Cartaginés18 Claudio CicciaForward2002–2004
2005
Dynamo České Budějovice8 Karel PoborskýMidfielder1991–1994
2005–2007
AaB12 Torben BoyeDefender1984–2002
Nordsjælland26 Jonathan RichterMidfielder2005–2009Lost his leg as a result of a lightning strike
Næstved BK7 Rasmus GreenMidfielder2005–2006posthumous
Viborg FF22 Søren FrederiksenStriker1989–1994
1998
2001–2005
Accrington Stanley29 Billy KeeStriker2009–2010
2015–2020		Retired due to mental health issues
Birmingham City22 Jude BellinghamMidfielder2019–2020Youngest-ever first-team player and goalscorer
Chesterfield14 Jack LesterStriker2007–2013
Exeter City9 Adam StansfieldForward2006–2010posthumous
Hartlepool United25 Michael MaidensMidfielder2004–2007posthumous
Macclesfield Town21 Richard ButcherMidfielder2010–2011posthumous
Manchester City23 Marc-Vivien FoéMidfielder2002–2003posthumous
Queens Park Rangers31 Ray JonesForward2006–2007posthumous
Rushden & Diamonds1 Dale RobertsGoalkeeper2008–2010posthumous
West Ham United6 Bobby MooreCentre back1958–1974posthumous
West Ham United38 Dylan TombidesStriker2010–2014posthumous
Wycombe Wanderers14 Mark PhiloMidfielder2004–2006posthumous
Wolverhampton Wanderers1 Carl IkemeGoalkeeper2003–2018retired due to cancer
Clermont14 Clément PinaultDefender2008–2009posthumous
Lens17 Marc-Vivien FoéMidfielder1995–1999posthumous
Nantes9 Emiliano SalaStriker2015–2019posthumous
Rennes29 Romain DanzéRight back2006–2019
Sedan29 David di TommasoCentre back2000–2004posthumous
Wacker Burghausen11 Marek KrejčíStriker2004–2007posthumous
VfL Wolfsburg19 Junior MalandaMidfielder2012–2015posthumous
AEL24 Kobe BryantShooting guard1996–2016Basketball legend, posthumous. Retired on January 27, 2020.
PAOK17 Panagiotis KatsourisMidfielder1996–1998posthumous
Skoda Xanthi13 Olubayo AdefemiDefender2010–2011posthumous
Skoda Xanthi56 Steve GohouriDefender2013–2014posthumous
CSD Municipal15 Juan Carlos PlataForward1990–2010
Roulado7 Jean-Robert MenelasStriker1993–2007Number was retired in recognition of his career at the club and for his all-time record goal scoring in the league. He is the first in the history of Haitian football to have a number permanently removed from use.
Olimpia11 Wilmer VelásquezForward1991–1995
1996–1998
1999–2001
2002–2009		Club Legend
Motagua16 Edy VásquezMidfielder2003–2007posthumous, retired from 2007–2009
Happy Valley2 Leung Sui WingSweeper1976–1997
Hong Kong Rangers15 Cheung Yiu LunDefender1992–1995
1996–1999
2001–2002		posthumous
Tai Po FC16 Mao MengsuoMidfielder2008–2010posthumous
Diósgyőri VTK77 José Juan LuqueWinger1996–2013Number retired on 2 June 2013 in respect of Luque being the most professional player in the DVTK history. His number retired for 10 years.
Ferencváros2 Tibor SimonRight fullback1985–1999posthumous
Kispest AC/Honvéd10 Ferenc PuskásDeep-lying forward1939–1956retired in 2000, died 2006
Kerala Blasters21 Sandesh JhinganDefender2014–2020Club's Legend
Bethlehem Vengthlang21 Peter BiaksangzualaMidfielder–2014posthumous, after the player died celebrating a goal.
Dempo SC10 Christiano JuniorStriker2004posthumous
Arema47 Achmad KurniawanGoalkeeper2006–2008
2010–2017		posthumous
Persebaya Surabaya19 Eri IriantoMidfielder1998–2000posthumous
Persela Lamongan1 Choirul HudaGoalkeeper1999–2017posthumous
Persis Solo33 Diego MendietaStriker2011–2012posthumous
Persepolis24 Hadi NorouziMidfielder
Forward		2008–2015posthumous
Died while sleeping. The cause of death was heart failure. A few days after the incident, Persepolis football club confirmed that the number 24 will be retired.
Zob Ahan30 Mehdi RajabzadehMidfielder2003–2007
2010–2011
2012–2018
Derry City18 Mark FarrenStriker2000–2014Number was retired in dedication to the club's all-time record goal scorer after he died of cancer.
Limerick FC4 Joe O'MahonyCentre back1966–1986posthumous
Hapoel Be'er Sheva6 Chaswe NsofwaStriker2007posthumous
Maccabi Haifa20 Yaniv KatanMidfielder/Forward1998-2006
2006-2014		Club's Legend
Maccabi Tel Aviv8 Avi NimniForward1990–1997
1998–2003
2005–2008		Club's Legend
Maccabi Tel Aviv12 Meni LeviRight Back2000–2002
Atalanta14 Federico PisaniDeep-lying forward1991–1997posthumous
Bari2 Giovanni LosetoDefender1982–1993
Bologna27 Niccolò GalliDefender2000–2001posthumous
Brescia10 Roberto BaggioDeep-lying forward2000–2004Club's Legend
Brescia13 Vittorio MeroDefender1998–2001
2002		posthumous
Cagliari11 Gigi RivaStriker1963–1978Club's Legend
Cagliari13 Davide AstoriDefender2008–2014posthumous
Chievo30 Jason MayéléLeft/right winger2001–2002posthumous
Crotone4 Antonio GalardoMidfielder1995–1998
2002–2016		Club's Legend
Fiorentina13 Davide AstoriDefender2015–2018posthumous
Genoa6 Gianluca SignoriniSweeper1988–1995posthumous
Genoa7 Marco RossiMidfielder2003–2004
2005–2013		Club's Legend
Internazionale3 Giacinto FacchettiLeft fullback1961–1978posthumous
Internazionale4 Javier ZanettiRight fullback1995–2014Club's Legend
Livorno25 Piermario MorosiniMidfielder2012posthumous
Messina41 Salvatore SulloMidfielder2001–2007
Milan3 Paolo MaldiniDefender1984–2009Club's Legend
Milan6 Franco BaresiDefender1977–1997Club's Legend
Napoli10 Diego MaradonaMidfielder1984–1991Club's Legend
Parma6 Alessandro LucarelliDefender2008–2018Club's Legend
Pescara4 Vincenzo ZucchiniMidfielder1973–1979posthumous
Salernitana4 Roberto BredaMidfielder1993–1999
2003–2005		Club's Legend
Siena4 Michele MignaniDefender1996–1997
1998–2006		Club's Legend
Vicenza3 Giulio SavoiniDefender1953–1966posthumous
Vicenza25 Piermario MorosiniMidfielder2007–2009
2011		posthumous
Montego Bay2 Stephen MalcolmDefender1989–2001posthumous
Reno F.C.7 Caple DonaldsonMidfielderposthumous
Fujieda MYFC2 Toshihide SaitoDefender2009–2013
Thespa Kusatsu31 Ryosuke OkunoDefender2002–2003
Yokohama F. Marinos3 Naoki MatsudaDefender1995–2010posthumous
FC Shakhter Karagandy14 Andrei FinonchenkoForward2000–2016
Llapi9 Fadil VokrriForward1976–1979posthumous
Liberia14 George WeahStriker1987–2018
Al Ahly Tripoli14 Tarik El TaibMidfielder1995–2001
VB Addu FC7 Ali AshfaqForward2008–2011
Atlante12 Félix FernándezGoalkeeper1989–1998
1999–2001
2002–2003
Guadalajara8 Salvador ReyesStriker1953–1967
2008		posthumous
Guadalajara22 José Martínez GonzálezMidfielder1970–1981posthumous
Monterrey26 Humberto SuazoForward2007–2014Number retired on 12 December 2014
Monterrey28 Jesus ArellanoRight Winger1992–1997
2000–2011		The shirt is not fully retired. Arellano has given consent for his son to adopt the number 28.
Pachuca1 Miguel CaleroGoalkeeper2000–2011His number had been retired on 23 October 2011 after Calero's retirement as a professional player. Later his number was retired again posthumous when he died on 4 December 2012.
Pachuca17 Hernán MedfordForward/Winger1994–1997
Pachuca20 Pablo GómezForward/Winger1999–2001posthumous
Pachuca110 Andrés ChitivaMidfielder2001–2008
2011
UANL7 Gerónimo BarbadilloMidfielder1977–1982
UNAM12 Sergio BernalGoalkeeper1989–1997
1998–2001
2003–2010
Raja Casablanca23 Zakaria ZeroualiDefender2011
Ajax14 Johan CruyffForward1957–1973
1981–1983
Ajax34 Abdelhak NouriMidfielder2015–2017Ajax has de facto retired the Number after Nouri suffered a heart failure on the field in a friendly against Werder Bremen. It has yet to be officially decided, but no player has played with number 34 ever since.
NAC Breda13 Ferry van VlietMidfielder2001–2002posthumous
Telstar22 Luciano van den BergDefender2004–2005posthumous
Utrecht4 David di TommasoCentre back2004–2005posthumous
Vitesse4 Theo BosDefender1983–1998posthumous
Wellington Phoenix22 Andrew DuranteDefender2008–
Linfield11 Noel BailieDefender1986–2011number retired in 2011 to commemorate his world record of 1,013 senior appearances for the club
Fredrikstad8 Dagfinn EnerlyWinger2004–2005
Árabe Unido21 Amílcar HenríquezMidfielder2003–2008
2016–2017		posthumous
Chepo77 Jonathan RodríguezMidfielder2006–2009posthumous
Universitario de Deportes22 José Luis CarranzaMidfielder1986–2004
Lech Poznań9 Piotr ReissForward1994–1998
2002–2008
2012–2013
Legia Warsaw10 Kazimierz DeynaMidfielder1966–1978posthumous
Widzew Łódź11 Włodzimierz SmolarekStriker1974–1978
1980–1986		posthumous
Benfica29 Miklós FehérStriker2002–2004posthumous
Boavista29 Edu FerreiraForward2016–2017posthumous
Died on 23 December 2017. The number was retired on 3 January 2018. Leonardo Acevedo was the last player to hold the number, but changed to the 59 shirt midway through the 2017–2018 season
União Leiria10 Hugo CunhaMidfielder2004–2005posthumous; has been worn again since 2009
Dinamo Bucureşti11 Cătălin HîldanMidfielder1994–2000posthumous
Dinamo Bucureşti14 Patrick EkengMidfielder2016posthumous
Dinamo Bucureşti25 Ionel DănciulescuStriker1995–1997
2002–2009
2010–2013
CSKA Moscow16 Serhiy PerkhunGoalkeeper2001posthumous
Rubin Kazan17 Lenar GilmullinDefender2003—2007posthumous
Rubin Kazan61 Gökdeniz KaradenizMidfielder2008—2018Club's Legend
Ural23 Pyotr HrustovskyStriker1999
2001–2003		posthumous
Alianza2 Roberto RivasRight Back1960–1970posthumous
FAS10 Mágico GonzálezForward1977–1982
1991–1999
Municipal Limeño11 Oscar Armando DíazStriker –1998posthumous
Najran SC20 Al Hasan Al-YamiStriker1991–1996
2005–2010		Number retired on 31 July 2012.
Radnički Niš10 Ivan "Beli" KrstićMidfielder2000posthumous
Spartak Trnava9 Ladislav KunaMidfielder1964–1980posthumous
Maribor19 Stipe BalajićDefender/Midfielder1998–2005
Ajax Cape Town21 Cecil LoloDefender2015–2016posthumous
Orlando Pirates1 Senzo MeyiwaGoalkeeper2005–2014posthumous
Orlando Pirates22 Lesley ManyathelaForward2000–2003posthumous
Daejeon Citizen FC18 Kim Eun-jungStriker1997–2003
2014
Daejeon Citizen FC21 Choi Eun-sungGoalkeeper1998–2012
Daewoo Royals, Busan I'cons16 Kim Joo-SungMidfielder1987–1992
1994–1999
Córdoba8 JuanínForward1960–1970posthumous
Espanyol21 Daniel JarqueDefender2002–2009posthumous
Extremadura19 Jose Antonio ReyesWinger2019posthumous
Real Betis26 Miki RoquéDefender2010–2012posthumous
Assyriska FF18 Eddie MoussaStriker2001–2010posthumous
Helsingborgs IF17 Henrik LarssonStriker1992–1993 2006–2009
Kalmar FF15 Johny ErlandssonWinger1973–1988
Norrköping18 Stefán ÞórðarsonStriker2004–2007
2009		The shirt was worn by Þórðarson during his comeback in the club during the 2009 season. Has been worn again since 2017.
Umeå IK6 Malin MoströmMidfielder1995–2006
2007		The shirt was worn by Moström during her comeback at the club during the 2007 season.
Östers IF6 Mario VasiljCentral Defender2006–2018Retired the number for six years.
Basel2 Massimo CeccaroniDefender1987–2002
St. Gallen17 Marc ZellwegerDefender1994–2001
2003–2010
TOT-CAT19 Chanont Wong-areeDefender2009–2010posthumous
Alanyaspor90 Josef ŠuralForward2019posthumous
Kansas City12 Lauren HolidayMidfielder2013–2015
New York Cosmos9 Giorgio ChinagliaStriker1976–1983Number posthumously retired in June 2014.
New York Cosmos10 PeléStriker1975–1977Number retired on 1 October 1977, at halftime.
New York Red Bulls99 Bradley Wright-PhillipsForward2013–2019He left the New York Red Bulls in 2019, but the franchise had announced his number would be retired in August 2018.
Portland Timbers3 Clive CharlesDefender1978–1981Number posthumously retired 23 August 2003.
Real Salt Lake9 Jason KreisMidfielder/Striker2005–2007Retirement ceremony held on 4 July 2011.
Tampa Bay Rowdies6 Mike ConnellDefender1975–1984Number retired 10 August 2013
Tampa Bay Rowdies12 Perry Van der BeckMidfielder1978–1982
1984
1991–1993		Number retired 1 October 2010
Shakhtar Donetsk33 Darijo SrnaDefender2003–2018
Zorya Luhansk33 Maksym Iv. BilyiMidfielder2010–2013posthumous
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai13 Kiatisuk SenamuangStriker2001–2006
Swansea City40 Besian IdrizajStriker2009–2010posthumous

Special cases

Dedication to fans

Some clubs dedicate a number to their fans, and do not issue it to any player. The most common number for this practice is 12, from descriptions of the fans as "the twelth man".
In Japanese footballing tradition, almost all the professional teams retired the number 12 for their supporters. The only two teams not to retire 12 are Urawa Red Diamonds and Sagan Tosu.
Other clubs and teams include:
Notes:
1 Despite of having their number "12" retired, Brazilian clubs have had to re-issue them for CONMEBOL competitions such as Copa Libertadores, where rosters must be numbered from 1 to 25 consecutively.
2 Exeter City reserve the number 12 shirt for the 'Twelfth Man' sponsor of individual games.
AIK and Djurgården IF reserve the number 1 for their supporters.
Indy Eleven reserve the number 11 for their supporters.
Reading, Notts County and Bryne reserve the number 13 for their supporters, Panathinaikos reserve this number in honour of Gate 13, the ultras based in the respective gate in home matches. Norwich City also reserve the number 13 shirt for "the fans" while Shrewsbury Town reserve the number 13 shirt for the fan who wins a pre-season competition.
After their 15-point deduction, Leeds United retired the number 15 shirt for the 2007–08 season only.
Bursaspor reserve the number 16 for their supporters.
AFC Bournemouth use squad number 27 for the Steve Fletcher Stand which houses the large majority of hardcore supporters, the number 50 for "12th man" and the number 99 shirt for their mascot, Cherry Bear.
Gillingham use squad number 13 for the 'Rainham End' Stand of Priestfield Stadium as this stand holds the majority of hardcore supporters.
Oldham Athletic reserve the number 40 for their fans.
Panathinaikos have reserved the number 13 in honor of Gate 13.
Levadiakos have reserved the number 10 for the club president, Giannis Kobotis.
Leicester City have reserved the number 50 for the mascot, Filbert Fox, which he wears on his shirt at every game.
APOEL have reserved the shirt number 79 in honour of PAN.SY.FI., to denote the year the group was founded, 1979.
Rochdale retired the number 55 shirt on 13 January 2017 in honour of five-year old Joshua McCormack who lost his battle with cancer.
Atlanta United reserve the number 17 for their supporters and to reference their inaugural season in Major League Soccer.