Gabriel Jesus says he changed his squad number at Manchester City from number 33 to number 9 to take the next step in his career.
Jesus wore 33 at Palmeiras and took the same number when he moved to City in January 2018. However, this season he will wear number 9,
Speaking after scoring the winning penalty in Sunday’s Community Shield penalty shootout victory over Liverpool, Gabriel reflected on the change.
“It was a little difficult change for me. I spent the whole season thinking and ended up not changing last year. This season I decided to change.
“Before the Copa America had already warned the club that I wanted to move to 9. The club was also happy, I was happy to have changed.
“I keep 33 with affection. It was the number I started as a professional, a number that I achieved a lot wearing.
“So it will always be in my life. Maybe in the future I can use it again. 9 is a very good number of great stars. I hope one day to become a great star too.”
