In football, jersey number thirteen is reserved for the second-choice goalkeepers, and that’s why it’s not a surprise that it’s one of the least present numbers seen behind shirts during games.
Did you know that most soccer teams do not typically favor having players wear the number 13 jersey?
The number 13 is often associated with bad luck and superstition in many cultures, including in sports. This superstition can influence team decisions and player preferences, leading to the number 13 being less commonly chosen or assigned.
In previous years we have seen German midfielder Michael Ballack, Italian defender Alessandro Nesta, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Adil Rami among the previous football players who wore the number 13.
However, it would be interesting to find out which players have the number 13 shirt and profile them. So, here are the popular football players who wear the number 13 jersey.
1. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal FC)
When Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 for £72 million, he became — and remains — the most expensive goalkeeper in football history, a record that has never been broken.
Despite a turbulent spell at Stamford Bridge, the Basque stopper rebuilt his reputation on loan at Real Madrid in 2023/24, winning La Liga and the Champions League, before a further loan at Bournemouth demonstrated he could still compete at the highest Premier League level.
Arsenal activated a £5 million release clause in July 2025 to sign him permanently, and he now wears the number 13 at the Emirates as backup to David Raya.
2. Marcus Bettinelli (Manchester City)
Marcus Bettinelli quietly became one of the most travelled backup goalkeepers in the Premier League, leaving Fulham for Chelsea in 2021 and then completing a move to Manchester City in June 2025, where he inherited the number 13 shirt.
In seven seasons as a professional backup, Bettinelli has barely featured competitively yet has accumulated medals as his clubs have won major honours around him — a unique career path that few players could sustain.
At the Etihad, he serves as third-choice cover behind Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford, bringing experience and professionalism to a squad chasing further Premier League and Champions League glory.
3. Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Jack Hinshelwood’s number 13 shirt carries a particular story at Brighton — he inherited it directly from club legend Pascal Groß when the German left for Borussia Dortmund, and when Groß returned in January 2026, Hinshelwood publicly joked he’d give it back: “If he wants it back, he deserves it for what he’s done for this club.”
The 21-year-old is a genuine one-club man, having joined Brighton’s academy at seven years old, and his father Adam also played for the Seagulls, making the shirt feel all the more personal.
Hinshelwood played every minute of England Under-21s’ 2025 European Championship final victory over Germany, cementing his status as one of the most exciting young midfielders in the Premier League.
4. Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur)
Destiny Udogie inherited the number 13 jersey in an unusual way — goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who previously wore it, upgraded to the number 1 shirt when Hugo Lloris left, freeing up the 13 for Udogie to claim.
The Italian left-back is one of the most attack-minded full-backs in the Premier League, having joined Spurs from Udinese in 2023 after impressing across the full season following his loan spell.
Udogie also wears the number 13 for Italy’s national team, one of the rare cases in world football where a player shares the same jersey number for both club and country.
5. Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United)
Patrick Dorgu’s move from Lecce to Manchester United in January 2025 was so hotly contested that Lecce’s president admitted they tried to resist it, United came back multiple times and ultimately had to present a “now or never” ultimatum before the Italian club accepted a fee of €30 million, a record sale for the Puglia-based side.
Born in Copenhagen with Nigerian heritage, Dorgu had joined Lecce from FC Nordsjælland for just €200,000 in 2022, so his transfer represented one of the best pieces of scouting in recent Italian football.
At United he wears the number 13 jersey and has quickly become Ruben Amorim’s first-choice left wing-back, filling a position that the manager described as the most urgent need in the squad.
6. Matt Targett (Newcastle United)
Matt Targett wears the number 13 jersey at Newcastle United in the 2025/26 season, as confirmed in the club’s official squad number announcement in August 2025, which also saw Nick Pope switch to number 1 and Lewis Hall move to number 3.
A composed and dependable left-back who joined the club under Eddie Howe, Targett has provided steady cover as Newcastle balance Premier League competition with a return to European football.
7. Joan Garcia (FC Barcelona)
Joan Garcia’s arrival at Barcelona was almost a fairytale — he signed from city rivals Espanyol after being the best goalkeeper in La Liga in 2024/25, conceding the fewest goals per game in the entire division and single-handedly keeping Espanyol afloat.
Barcelona activated his €25 million release clause to beat the likes of Manchester City to his signature, and he took the number 13 jersey vacated by Iñaki Peña, going on to win La Liga’s best goalkeeper award with a goals-conceded average of just 0.70 per match.
In a remarkable twist, Garcia also wears number 13 for the Spanish national team, and he holds an Olympic gold medal from the 2024 Paris Games, making him one of the most decorated young goalkeepers in the world.
8. Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid)
Andriy Lunin took the number 13 jersey at Real Madrid from Thibaut Courtois in 2020, and when Courtois suffered a devastating ACL injury in August 2023, Lunin stepped up magnificently — he was arguably Madrid’s most important player in the knockout stages of the 2023/24 Champions League campaign, including a brilliant performance at the Bernabéu against Manchester City.
The Ukrainian has worn the number 13 jersey for his national team since his early career, and won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup with Ukraine’s U20 side in 2019, cementing a decade-long association with the number.
He is one of the best backup goalkeepers in the world, holding Champions League, La Liga, and Supercopa winners medals despite rarely being first choice.
9. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Jan Oblak took the number 13 jersey from Thibaut Courtois when the Belgian left for Real Madrid in 2018, and in a symmetry that football rarely produces, both keepers still wear the same number for their respective clubs eleven years later.
The Slovenian has won the Zamora Trophy — awarded to La Liga’s best goalkeeper — a record six times, and on March 13, 2024, he became the first goalkeeper in Champions League history to win three penalty shoot-outs with the same club, eliminating Inter Milan in dramatic fashion.
He is undisputedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world, with over 400 appearances for Atletico and a 2021 La Liga title to his name, all while wearing a number many players refuse to take.
10. Unai Egiluz (Athletic Bilbao)
Unai Egiluz, a 23-year-old centre-back from Durango in the Basque Country, wears the number 13 jersey at Athletic Bilbao having returned from a loan spell at Mirandés where he gained first-team experience in the Spanish second division.
Like all Athletic Club players, Egiluz is Basque-born and came through the club’s academy system, and he is viewed as one of the emerging defensive talents at a club with one of the most distinctive player-sourcing policies in world football.
11. Paulo Gazzaniga (Girona FC)
Paulo Gazzaniga has worn the number 13 jersey at Girona since joining the Catalan club in 2022, initially on loan before signing permanently, and he played a central role in one of the great upsets of modern Spanish football — helping Girona qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2023/24 by playing all 38 La Liga matches and keeping twelve clean sheets.
The Argentine had spent time at Southampton, Tottenham, and Fulham before finding his home in Catalonia, and the number 13 has followed him consistently — he previously wore it at Spurs as well.
Despite Girona’s relegation from La Liga at the end of 2025/26, Gazzaniga delivered another personal standout season, making 116 saves across 35 appearances — one of the highest save tallies in the division.
12. Amir Rrahmani (SSC Napoli)
Amir Rrahmani inherited the number 13 jersey at Napoli from Sebastiano Luperto in 2020, and has since become one of the most consistent defenders in Serie A — winning the Scudetto in 2022/23 as part of a Napoli backline that was almost impenetrable.
Born in Pristina with Albanian heritage, Rrahmani received Albanian citizenship in 2013 but chose to represent Kosovo, whose national team he now captains — also wearing the number 13 internationally.
His aerial strength, physicality, and leadership make him the cornerstone of Napoli’s defense, and he remains one of the best defenders in Serie A.
13. Josep Martínez (Inter Milan)
Josep Martínez’s path to Inter Milan’s number 13 jersey was anything but straightforward — the Valencian goalkeeper came through Barcelona’s academy, built his career in German football at RB Leipzig, joined Genoa on loan, and then signed permanently for the Rossoneri before being sold to Inter in 2024 for nearly €15 million.
He took the number 13 jersey at the San Siro from Andrea Ranocchia, and while Yann Sommer remains first choice, Martínez has been trusted by coach Cristian Chivu as Inter’s starting goalkeeper in the Coppa Italia, most notably excelling in their semi-final victory over Como.
14. Jérémie Boga (Juventus FC)
Jérémie Boga’s arrival at Juventus in January 2026 on loan from Nice brought a burst of creativity to a side struggling for form, and he was immediately handed the number 13 jersey — a number that needed filling after no senior player had claimed it at the start of the season.
Born in Marseille and raised in the Chelsea academy, Boga chose to represent Ivory Coast internationally despite being eligible for France, and built his reputation at Sassuolo before joining Atalanta and later Nice.
Known for his explosive dribbling, close control, and ability to beat defenders in tight spaces, the 29-year-old adds the unpredictability and flair that Juventus’s attack has often lacked.
15. Alessio Romagnoli (SS Lazio)
When Alessio Romagnoli left AC Milan for Lazio in 2022, he returned home in the most personal sense — a lifelong Lazio supporter who had grown up dreaming of wearing the biancoceleste shirt, he inherited the number 13 jersey from Nicolo Armini to fulfil that dream.
As a former Milan captain who had worn the number 13 there too, Romagnoli brought strong defensive leadership to Lazio’s backline, and his left-footedness makes him one of the most natural ball-playing centre-backs in Italian football.
He is one of the best left-footed centre-backs in Serie A and one of the few players in this list to have worn number 13 at multiple top clubs.
16. Éderson (Atalanta)
Brazilian midfielder Éderson has worn the number 13 jersey for Atalanta since joining from Salernitana in 2022, and his journey from the streets of Campo Grande in Mato Grosso do Sul to Atalanta’s engine room is one of the more remarkable stories in recent Serie A history — he cost just €22.9 million and has since been valued at over €40 million.
He was one of the key figures in Atalanta’s historic 2023/24 Europa League title, lifting the trophy in Dublin as Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, and his performances earned him his first senior Brazil call-ups in 2024 — he has also been included in Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad.
A box-to-box midfielder who combines defensive solidity with an eye for goal, Éderson is one of the most complete midfielders in the world.
17. Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig)
Nicolas Seiwald came through the Red Bull football system in the most complete way possible — starting at Liefering, maturing at Red Bull Salzburg, and finally graduating to RB Leipzig in 2023 for €20 million, where he was immediately handed the number 13 jersey.
The Austrian international is not the most celebrated player in the Bundesliga, but his club’s own website described him in December 2025 as “important for our success more than it might appear on first glance” — in 14 of Leipzig’s 15 matches that season, he had started every game.
Seiwald’s pressing intensity, positional discipline, and reliability in the defensive midfield make him an unsung backbone of one of the most technically demanding systems in the Bundesliga.
18. Georgios Vagiannidis (Sporting CP)
Greek right-back Georgios Vagiannidis wears the number 13 jersey at Sporting CP in the 2025/26 season, taking the shirt previously associated with Vladan Kovačević, who left the club after just one season.
The 24-year-old has developed into a dependable and energetic full-back at Sporting, contributing both defensively and in their attacking build-up play, helping the club reach the Champions League knockout stages in a season where they recorded some of their best European performances in years.
19. Christian Mawissa (AS Monaco)
Christian Mawissa is one of the youngest players on this list and one of the most intriguing — born in 2005 and still just 20 years old, the French centre-back wears the number 13 jersey at AS Monaco, where he had previously been confirmed wearing the same number by the club’s previous coaching staff.
He took the shirt that was previously worn by Guillermo Maripán, a Chilean international who departed in 2024, and has represented France at youth level — making him a name to watch as Monaco continue to develop young defensive talent from their academy.
20. Pepê Rosário (FC Porto)
Pepê Rosário wears the number 13 jersey at FC Porto, inheriting a shirt that was previously held by Galeno — the Brazilian winger who left for Al-Ahli in 2025 after several standout seasons at the Estádio do Dragão.
A dynamic Brazilian midfielder, Pepê is a key part of Porto’s engine room and played his part as the club won the Primeira Liga title in 2025/26, their 31st championship, keeping pace with an exceptionally competitive domestic season.
His technical ability and high work rate make him a natural fit for Porto’s demanding, possession-based style under their current coaching setup, and the number 13 jersey seems to suit a player who has had to fight for his place at a club that constantly competes in European football.
