Young sensation Gavi of Barcelona received a lot of attention on Thursday when the team faced Manchester United in the 2022-23UEFA Europa LeagueKnockout Round play-offs.Not only did the midfielder play very well, but he also sported a different jersey number from the one he normally plays in during La Liga, which drew a lot of attention.
Despite playing the Catalan giants to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou, the RedDevils ultimately prevailed courtesy of a goal from Marcus Rashford and an own goal. The Blaugrana’s Brazilian winger Raphinha scored in the 76th minute to square the game and set up a thrilling second leg at Old Trafford next week.
Some spectators throughout the enthralling match wondered why the Spanish international Gavi was wearing the No.30 shirt instead of his normal No. 6.In an announcement made at the end of last month, the Catalan giants revealed that their 18-year-old star had been given the number 6 jersey made famous by his manager Xavi Hernandez.
Why does Gavistill play with kit number 30?
Gavi was not allowed to wear No. 6 in the match versus Manchester United due to a regulation that forbids players to change jersey numbers midway through a season in UEFA competitions. As UEFA doesn’t let players switch shirt numbers mid-season, the talented youngsterwill have to wait until the next season to start sporting his new kit number.
Players in La Liga, on the other hand, are permitted to switch jersey numbers midway through the season if they are already officially part of the first squad.SinceGavi started out in Barca’s La Masia academy, he wasn’t originally eligible to wear a number in the 1-25 range.
It’s a different story now, however, as the Spanish international’s importance to Xavi Hernandez’s team has grown substantially since the summer. In addition, the 18-year-old alsoextended his contract in September, but the club had to wait until now to officially register the contract because of wage limit concerns.
Yet, if Barcelona fail toadvance to the next round of the Europa League, Gavi may have worn number 30 for the last timeon Thursday.Unfortunately for the Spanish side, hewill miss the return leg at Old Trafford owing to a match ban for card accumulation.