Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui is Manchester United’s new number 3, the Premier League club confirmed on Tuesday following the completion of his transfer from Bayern Munich.
The 26-year-old joined the Red Devils in a deal reportedly worth around €17 million plus add-ons, and that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2028, with an option for a further year.
The Morocco international, whose move is still subject to registration, will be United’s new No. 3, a famous number in the history of the club through the years.
Mazraoui, who can play across both fullback positions and also as a wingback, has previously won the No. 3 shirt—the jersey number he donned on his debut for his former club Ajax during the 2017/18 season.
Although he later switched to No. 12 for the Dutch side, he wore No. 40 during his two-year spell at Bayern, where he won the Bundesliga in 2023 and got to the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League last season.
Mazraoui joins a list of United players to have worn the jersey number, with Tony Dunne and Arthur Albiston owing it for a long time.
Meanwhile, Denis Irwin, one of United’s greatest players, was the first player to wear the No. 3 jersey when the Premier League mandated squad numbers from the 1993/94 season onwards.
Irwin wore it until the 2002 season before it was picked up by Phil Neville. French defender Patrice Evra, who joined the club in 2006, too, over the shirt, which he wore for all 379 of his legendary United appearances.
Most recently, English left back Luke Shaw, who now dons the No. 23 jersey, wore the No. 3 following his move from Southampton, while Ivorian defender Eric Baily was the last player to put on the shirt.
Likewise, Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, who also joined United from Bayern Munich on Tuesday, gets the No. 4 shirt formerly won by Steve Bruce, David May, Juan Sebastian Veron, Owen Hagreaves, Phil Jones, and most recently Moroccan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
It is left to see whether Mazraoui and de Ligt would be available for the 2024-25 Premier League season opener when United host Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday, August 16.
