The number 10 jersey is usually reserved for the most attack-minded, creative player in a team. In modern days the duty has become flexible, with number tens also expected to contribute defensively and press when the team loses possession.
Mesut Özil, Dennis Bergkamp, Eden Hazard at Chelsea, Kaká at AC Milan, and Ronaldinho at Barcelona are some of the modern number tens who wore the number to perfection.
But who wears the number 10 jersey in 2025/26? Here are the football players who wear the number 10 jersey today.
1. Eberechi Eze (Arsenal FC)
Eberechi Eze was handed the number 10 at Arsenal in August 2025 after the Gunners hijacked Tottenham’s agreed deal for the Crystal Palace midfielder, bringing him home to his boyhood club for £67.5 million and a shirt worn previously by Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie, Mesut Özil, and Emile Smith Rowe.
He arrived having scored the winning goal in Crystal Palace’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City just months earlier, and went on to win the Premier League title in his first Arsenal season, making the number 10 his own in north London.
2. Cole Palmer (Chelsea FC)
Cole Palmer switched from number 20 to number 10 at Chelsea for 2025/26, confirming his status as the undisputed creative leader of the squad after arriving from Manchester City for £40 million in 2023.
His inventive attacking play and prolific scoring have made him one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, and the number 10 suits a player who controls matches with a calm authority that makes him look older than his years.
3. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool FC)
Alexis Mac Allister has worn the number 10 at Liverpool since joining from Brighton in the summer of 2023, confirmed directly on LiverpoolFC.com, taking a shirt previously occupied by Sadio Mané and following a lineage that includes John Barnes, Philippe Coutinho, and Michael Owen.
4. Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
Rayan Cherki inherited the number 10 at Manchester City after Jack Grealish departed on loan to Everton, having previously worn number 29 at the FIFA Club World Cup where he scored on his debut in a 6-0 win over Al Ain.
5. Matheus Cunha (Manchester United)
Matheus Cunha joined Manchester United from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2025 for £74 million and was handed the number 10 shirt, taking it over from Marcus Rashford who had moved to Barcelona on loan.
6. James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur)
James Maddison has worn the number 10 at Tottenham since joining from Leicester City in 2023, confirmed on the official Tottenham Premier League squad registration, having also carried the number throughout his time at the Foxes.
7. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappé switched from number 9 to number 10 at Real Madrid for 2025/26 following Luka Modrić’s departure, announcing it himself with a social media post that simply read “10” before the club’s official website confirmed the change.
He has worn the number 10 for France throughout his international career and now matches it at club level, joining a Madrid lineage that includes Luis Figo, Mesut Özil, James Rodríguez, and Modrić, having already set a club scoring record of 44 goals in his debut season.
8. Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)
Lamine Yamal moved from number 19 to the iconic number 10 at Barcelona when he signed a new contract to 2031 in July 2025, taking a shirt worn previously by Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo, after Ansu Fati departed on loan to Monaco.
Still only 17 at the start of 2025/26, Yamal had already scored against France in the Euro 2024 semi-final and won La Liga, and the number 10 simply confirmed what football already knew: he is the most exciting teenage talent the game has seen in a generation.
9. Álex Baena (Atletico Madrid)
Álex Baena was officially presented as Atletico Madrid’s number 10 in August 2025, confirmed at the club’s unveiling ceremony at the Metropolitano, after joining from Villarreal as Diego Simeone looked to add creativity and directness to his squad following Ángel Correa’s departure to Mexico.
10. Kenan Yildiz (Juventus FC)
Kenan Yildiz wears the number 10 at Juventus, confirmed by official UEFA Champions League squad registration and Getty Images match photography throughout 2025/26, and justified the shirt by winning Serie A’s Rising Star of the Season award as the team’s most consistent attacking threat across a turbulent campaign.
11. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
Lautaro Martínez has worn the number 10 at Inter Milan since joining from Racing Club in 2018, captaining the club to the 2025/26 Serie A title as their top scorer with 17 league goals and winning the Capocannoniere award for the second time in three seasons.
One of the most complete strikers in world football, he combines goalscoring, pressing, and link-up play, and wears number 22 for Argentina internationally, leaving the 10 for one of the most famous players ever to wear it for the Albiceleste.
12. Rafael Leão (AC Milan)
Rafael Leão has worn the number 10 at AC Milan since the departure of Çalhanoğlu to Inter, making the shirt his own with his electrifying pace and dribbling, resisting major interest from Chelsea, PSG, and Real Madrid across multiple transfer windows to remain at the San Siro.
13. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Jamal Musiala was handed the number 10 at Bayern Munich for 2025/26, inheriting it from Leroy Sané who departed for Galatasaray, joining a lineage that includes Arjen Robben, Lothar Matthäus, and Uli Hoeneß at one of football’s most storied clubs.
14. Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain)
Ousmane Dembélé took the number 10 at PSG after Neymar’s departure in 2023 and in 2024/25 won the Ballon d’Or as part of the PSG side that claimed a historic treble including their first ever Champions League title.
15. Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)
Julian Brandt has worn the number 10 at Borussia Dortmund since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2019, making him one of the longest-serving current occupants of a number 10 shirt at any major European club, spending six seasons as the creative heartbeat of Dortmund’s midfield.
16. Luka Modrić (Croatia)
Luka Modrić wears the number 10 for Croatia at the 2026 World Cup, captaining his country at the age of 40 in what is widely expected to be his fifth and final tournament.
He is one of the oldest soccer players at the 2026 World Cup.
Having left Real Madrid after thirteen years to join AC Milan for 2025/26, Modrić closes in on 200 international caps at the World Cup and remains the defining example of what the number 10 should represent: vision, intelligence, and the ability to control any match through sheer football brain, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018 and six Champions League titles across his career.
17. Neymar Jr. (Brazil / Santos)
Neymar wears the number 10 for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, confirmed by the CBF’s official squad announcement, with Vinicius Jr. voluntarily taking the number 7 and declaring “the number 10 belongs to Neymar, that’s obvious.”
18. Leroy Sané (Galatasaray)
Leroy Sané wore the number 10 at Bayern Munich for five seasons before joining Galatasaray on a free transfer in the summer of 2025, the shirt now belonging to Musiala after Sané’s best individual season in 2024/25 brought 11 Bundesliga goals and five assists.
19. Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami)
Lionel Messi wears the number 10 for a and at Inter Miami in MLS, still producing moments of brilliance at 38 years old and representing the most famous association between a player and a shirt number in modern football history.
Eight Ballon d’Or wins, four Champions League titles, the 2022 World Cup, three Copa Américas, and a career total of over 800 club goals make him the greatest footballer of all time, and the number 10 will always carry a part of his name wherever it is worn.
20. Iliman Ndiaye (Everton FC)
Iliman Ndiaye wears the number 10 at Everton, confirmed by the club’s official announcement which posted “Our number 10, his name is Iliman Ndiaye”, after joining from Marseille in July 2024 and taking the shirt as one of the most creative wide forwards at the club in recent years.
The Senegal international scored six goals in the 2025/26 Premier League season, won Everton’s Goal of the Season award for a superb solo effort at Sunderland, and helped Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2026, cementing himself as one of the most exciting attackers outside the traditional big-six clubs.
