With Friday’s announcement that Lamine Yamal will wear Spain‘s number 10 for the upcoming games, 433futbol looks back at the best number 10s to ever suit up for La Roja.
Lamine Yamal
Who else? The 17-year-old wonder kid broke through last season when he quickly graduated from Barcelona’s youth system into the first team as handpicked by coach Xavi. The rest is history.
The boy has already appeared in 62 first-team appearances for La Blaugrana after setting countless club scoring and assist records at 16 last season. After becoming the second-youngest Champions League player ever, he became the Euro’s youngest player this past summer, spearheading La Roja’s triumph. He wore the number 19 in Germany, matching his club jersey number.
Now, the man-child will wear the shirt for Saturday’s Nations League clash against Denmark and, on Tuesday, against Serbia. Yamal joins some esteemed company of other iconic number 10 Spain footballers. Let’s take a look.
Cesc Fabregas
He oozed class. Combining flair and creativity, Cesc Fabregas epitomized the number 10 shirt. The former Arsenal midfielder provided that pass to Andres Iniesta for the game-winning goal in World Cup 2010.
Fabregas also assisted David Silva’s opener in the victorious 2012 Euros final against Italy. He played a less prominent role in the triumphant 2008 tournament but still made an impactful contribution off the bench.
Raul
Before he switched to the iconic number 7 to match his Real Madrid kit, Raul joined Spain as the team’s number 10. He wore the shirt in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 before the number switch in 2002 when Diego Tristian adopted the number for World Cup 2002.
Raul netted 44 times in his 102 appearances with La Roja. While he practically won everything with Madrid at the club level, he fell short of trophies on the international stage.
Thiago Alcântara
Thiago Alcântara brought his creative flair and technical mastery to Spain’s midfield when he took on the number 10 shirt, notably during the 2018 World Cup. With a skill set honed at Barcelona and later Bayern Munich, Thiago was seen as the natural successor to Spain’s golden generation of midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta. In his number 10 role, he aimed to be the team’s orchestrator, threading passes and controlling the tempo in the middle of the park.
While Alcântara helped Spain’s U-21 team lift the 2011 Euro Championship trophy, he never achieved such silverware at the senior level. But he can live with that, enjoying four La Liga titles at Barca and seven league titles with Bayern Munich. He also won the Champions League with both clubs.
Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio brought a U-19 and U-21 European Championship trophy to La Roja, a silver medal for Spain at the 2020 Olympics, and the 2022-23 Nations League title. But he fell short at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and missed out on Spain’s 2024 Euros title. Now at PSG, the 28-year-old midfielder with three Champions League titles with Real Madrid still has plenty to contribute, especially with that sharp shooting left foot.
