The number 10 jersey is usually left for the best attack-minded player in a team. This is because their duty as a part of the team is very important to scoring goals and winning matches.
The number ten is expected to connect the defense and the midfield to the team’s attack while providing goalscoring chances.
In modern days, their duty has now been made flexible as number tens are also expected to support the attacker for pockets of space where he can score goals as well.
Meanwhile, players in the number ten positions now have defensive duties as they are expected to pressure the opposition defense when the team loose possession.
These days, the numbering behind the shirt does not automatically reveal the player’s position, but then some wore the number ten and played it to perfection.
Mesut Ozil, Denis Bergkamp, both at Arsenal, Eden Hazard at Chelsea, Kaká at AC Milan, and David Silva at Manchester City are some of the modern number ten who wore the number in most recent past.
The jersey number 10 shirt is normally associated with special players. This number is usually worn by footballers who are exceptionally talented and gifted. Many top teams have great number 10s in their squads.
However, let’s take you through the players who are currently wearing the number ten jerseys on their backs in the 2022/2023 season.
Here are the top football players who wear the number 10 jersey.
15. Kylian Mbappé (France)
Kylian Mbappé is one of the best soccer players in a talented France team.
Despite the pool of talented footballers that France has, Mbappé wears the highly-coveted number 10 jersey for his national team. However, at PSG, Mbappé wears number 7.
14. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
The legendary Argentine is one of the best football players of all time.
He has worn the number 10 jersey for most of his career. However, when he joined PSG, Messi opted to wear number 30.
Nonetheless, he dons the number 10 for his country Argentina and is definitely one of the top soccer players who wear number 10.
13. Jack Grealish
Despite his slow start to Manchester City, Jack Grealish is still one of the best left-wingers in the world.
He was given the number 10 jersey at Manchester City after club legend Sergio Aguero left the club.
12. James Maddison
The Leicester City attacking midfielder is one of the most creative players in the EPL.
His pinpoint passes and accurate freekicks are some of the aspects that stand him out among his peers.
The Foxes’ number 10 has continued to improve his stock in the game, and it will be a matter of time before he joins a big club if the current trajectory of his game continues.
11. Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been wearing the number 10 jersey for Manchester United since the 2017/18 season.
He inherited the jersey number from Man United legend Wayne Rooney.
The Englishman has been consistent for his club ever since he burst into the scene.
10. Paul Pogba (Juventus)
French midfielder Paul Pogba rejoined Juventus in the summer of 2022 from Manchester United; it was his second stint at the Old Ladies.
However, since he joined in the summer, he’s yet to appear competitively for the old ladies due to injury. Pogba plays in the midfield, but he’s highly versatile as he can feature as a defensive midfielder, box-to-box, and an attacking Midfielder.
The only season he wore jersey number ten at Juventus in his first stint was in the 2015/2016 season.
9. Thorgan Hazard (Dortmund)
Younger brother to Eden Hazard has been around some of Europe’s biggest leagues, and he’s also managed to carry the number ten jerseys around.
He wore the number four seasons with Borrusia Monchengladbach and has had it at Dortmund since the 2019/2020 season. Last season, the winger cum attacking midfielder won the DFB Pokal with the yellow and black.
8. Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Argentine Angel Correa plays as a winger and forward most of the time and has played over 249 appearances for Atletico Madrid since moving to Europe.
He has worn different numbers since joining, including 26 and 11, but he got the number 10 in the 2018/2019 season, and he’s won La Liga since then, amongst other trophies.
7. Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)
Christian Pulisic played in the US before joining Dortmund, where he played before moving to Chelsea in the 2019/2020 season.
After being assigned the number 22 jersey initially, he got the number 10 Jersey in his second season at the club, on the back of a tremendous debut season where he scored 9 goals and assisted once in the Premier League.
Christian Pulisic is one of the the best US soccer players playing in Europe.
He’s won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup at Stamford Bridge.
6. Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
One of the youngest and most promising talents on this list is Ansu Fati, who has had a phenomenal start to his professional career.
Ansu Fati was given the number 10 shirt in the 2021/2022 season, but before then, he had to contend with 31 and 22 in the two previous seasons before that.
He is one of the youngest footballers who wear number in Europe.
5. Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)
Leroy Sane has always been known as a pacy player, one of the tools needed to blossom on the wings as a winger.
His technical ability is up there with the best players in the world, but before Bayern Munich, he had played for Shalcke 04 and Manchester City.
Interestingly, Leroy Sane didn’t have the number ten shirt anywhere in professional football until his move to Bayern Munich, where he had it from his first season.
He’s won the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal at Bayern Munich since his arrival there three seasons ago, including the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
4. Lautaró Martinez (Inter Milan)
Lautaro Martinez has had the number 10 shirt slapped on him since his days with Racing Club in Argentina.
When he joined Inter Milan in 2018/2019, he was assigned the number, although he is primarily a striker. Last season he scored 25 goals and made four assists in 49 appearances in all competitions in the 2021/2022 season.
The Argentinian marksman is one of the best forwards currently in the Italian Serie A.
Martinez is a bullish but very technically adept striker. The 25-year-old has already amassed a few domestic titles with the Nerrazuri and will be hoping to add more in this current campaign.
3. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
It’s not often you see a striker put on the number 10 Jersey, especially when he churns out the kind of numbers he does every season.
The England captain is one of the most prolific strikers in the world. He’s one of the few out-and-out forwards that wears number 10.
Kane has been wearing the jersey for Tottenham Hotspur since the 2015/2016 season. Harry has won the golden boot multiple times in the English Premier League while playing for the North London club.
The 29-year-old is one of the few world-class players who are yet to win a trophy.
England forward is in the front line of any Tottenham Hotspur’s success and, as a striker partner, more like a partner in crime in Son Heung-min.
His style of play makes him deserving of the number 10 Jersey, as he drops deep to collect the ball and drive forward.
2. Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
Croatian midfielder Luka Modric is the most traditional number 10 player on this list, having helped Real Madrid to five Champions League triumphs since joining from Tottenham in 2012.
He beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the Ballon d’Or in 2018. His age has not diminished his quality, and at 36, he’s expected to run the midfield for Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar.
The ageless Croatian midfield wizard is arguably one of the greatest players of his generation. The 37-year-old has been one of the most dominant central midfielders for over a decade now.
Modrić is blessed with exceptional technical ability and wonderful vision, which he has deployed to devastating effect for all the teams he has played for in his long career.
Luka is currently regarded as one of the world’s best number 10s. The Real Madrid player has worn the number 10 jersey since 2017/2018 and has won so many titles during his time at the Bernabeu.
Modric can function as a central midfielder, defensive midfielder, and also as an attacking Midfielder.
1. Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil)
Old-schooled number 10s usually pack the skills that Neymar Jr. possesses, and had the Brazilian been deployed in that position, he would perform with his thanks to his nimble feet.
The talented but equally enigmatic Brazilian international has been wearing the number 10 jersey with French side Paris Saint Germain for a long time.
The 30-year-old joined the Ligue 1 giants in 2017 and since then has lit up Paris with his fantastic skills and goalscoring ability that have propelled PSG to many domestic titles.
He’s showcased this in the current season when he’s been linking up with Lionel Messi and Mbappe, albeit he’s done it with the Argentine when both played at Barcelona.
For context, Neymar Jr. has already adjusted to his new role this season with 11 goals and nine assists in 13 Ligue 1 games. It is left to be seen what he will do at the World Cup for Brazil.
