Fermín López Takes Iconic No. 7 Shirt at Barcelona
Fermín López has a new responsibility at Barcelona. Not a new position, not a new role in Hansi Flick’s system, but something that carries its own weight at this club: the No. 7 shirt.
With Ferran Torres leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth close to €50 million and signing a five-year contract until 2031, one of the most symbolic numbers at Barça suddenly lay empty. Debate quickly broke out among supporters. Who would pick it up? Who was ready for that kind of spotlight?
La Liga’s official website has now provided the answer. Fermín, the La Masia product who has surged from promising youngster to key starter, will swap his old No. 16 for the iconic 7.
A rising leader in Flick’s Barcelona
Fermín didn’t get this number as a marketing move. He earned it on the pitch.
Under Hansi Flick, the attacking midfielder became an integral part of Barcelona’s structure last season, driving the team through a standout 2025/26 campaign. His energy, timing into the box, and knack for decisive contributions helped push Barça to the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup.
The story might have been even bigger. An untimely injury late in the season cost him a place on Spain’s flight to North America for the World Cup, a brutal blow for a player in that kind of form. Instead of the global stage, he got rehab and frustration.
But that setback hasn’t lingered. Fully recovered, Fermín has impressed again in pre-season, looking sharp, confident, and ready to carry even more responsibility. Now he will do it with a number on his back that demands personality.
A shirt with history
At Barcelona, No. 7 is not just another squad number. It comes with a lineage.
Most recently, Ferran Torres wore it before his move to PSG. Before him came Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann, and Philippe Coutinho — all high-profile, high-expectation names who carried the shirt in different, often turbulent eras for the club.
Go back a little further and the list becomes even more evocative: Arda Turan, Pedro Rodríguez, David Villa. Then deeper into the club’s history: Luis Figo, Eusebio, and even Pep Guardiola, who briefly donned the number during his playing days.
That is the weight Fermín López now shoulders. A homegrown midfielder, stepping into a shirt once worn by some of the club’s biggest signings and most controversial figures, as well as several beloved champions.
A wider reshuffle in numbers
Fermín’s change is part of a broader reset in the dressing room.
Earlier this month, Barcelona confirmed that Joan García will take over the No. 1 shirt following Marc-André ter Stegen’s departure, a symbolic passing of the gloves at a club where the goalkeeper has often been a cornerstone.
Wojciech Szczęsny has been handed the No. 13, another clear sign of the new hierarchy between the posts.
And this is not finished. New signings Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon are still waiting to discover their own numbers, decisions that will complete the picture of Flick’s revamped squad.
For now, though, one image stands out: Fermín López, La Masia graduate, walking into a new season as Barcelona’s No. 7. The number is his. What he does with its history is the next chapter.
