Moises Caicedo will wear the no.25 shirt for Chelsea.
Caicedo joined on a eight-year deal, with a club option of a further year, on
Monday after arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion.
The shirt number was famously last worn by Gianfranco Zola, with the Chelsea
legend giving his blessing for Moises to take on the 25 for the season ahead.
Caicedo contacted Gianfranco to ask for permission to wear his famous squad
number, with the Italian replying to our latest signing with the following
heartfelt message:
'Hi Moises! Thank you for the message. I hope it will bring to you as many
pleasures as it brought to me.
'Good luck, Gianfranco.'
The number means a lot to Caicedo too, with the midfielder wearing 25 for
Brighton, and he explained how he spoke to Zola before taking the shirt.
'I'm so proud to wear this number,' said Moises. 'I spoke with Gianfranco
Zola and he gave me his blessing.
'I know how much this number means. I chose it because it is a very special
number to me and my family.
'I want to create a lot of memories for Chelsea with this number on my back!'
He took the no.23 shirt for Ecuador at the 2022 Qatar World Cup but that is
currently occupied by fellow midfielder Conor Gallagher.
Caicedo is our latest summer signing, following the captures of Rob Sanchez,
Axel Disasi, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson.
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/moises-caicedo-squad-number-confirmed