Whoever arrives from now, it seems as though Goncalo Ramos will be AC Milan’s big summer signing, and there is a lot of weight on his shoulders.
As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanPress) report, Ramos is ready to start his adventure with Milan and has already chosen the number that will accompany him in the new experience: the number nine shirt. It is one that has a mixed history, especially in recent years.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
In the middle of the summer holidays, Ramos stopped in Milan to start getting familiar with what will be his new home. The Portuguese striker arrived in the city to look for accommodation for next season, saying hello to Gerry Cardinale, Ruben Amorim and some of his new team-mates.
Here he posed with his new shirt at the club store, on which the No.9 stands out, not least because of what it means to wear the number for such a historic club.
A ‘curse’ to overcome
After Filippo Inzaghi’s farewell only Olivier Giroud managed to really impose himself with Milan’s number nine shirt. The French striker was one of the protagonists of the Scudetto won in the 2021-22 season, scoring 49 goals in 132 games, with an average of one goal every 185 minutes.
Among the biggest goals remain the double in the derby of February 2022 and the goals scored against Sassuolo on the last day of the season that mathematically delivered the title to the Rossoneri. The Frenchman is the No.9 who has scored the most in the past 15 years.
However, the best goal average in fact belongs to Luka Jović, scorer of 13 goals in 47 games with a score every 149 minutes. Behind him we find Alexandre Pato, who scored every 163 minutes, and Gianluca Lapadula (eight goals in 29 appearances, at one every 170 minutes).
Behind him we find André Silva (10 goals in 41 games with an average of one goal every 202 minutes), then Gonzalo Higuaín (eight goals in 22 games and one marking every 232 minutes). Luiz Adriano (six goals in 36 appearancesm, one every 266 minutes) and Krzysztof Piątek (16 goals in 41, one every 269 minutes) follow.
Ramos shows up at Milan with very encouraging statistics. At Paris Saint-Germain, despite often finding little space behind Ousmane Dembélé, he maintained an average of one goal every 142 minutes. Last season he scored a total of 12 goals, six of them in the league and two in the Champions League.
In the previous year Ramos had finished with 19 goals in total while with Benfica. Before the transfer to Paris, he scored 27 goals, confirming himself as one of the most prolific strikers on the European scene.
Even the recent goal scored against Croatia at the World Cup from a Rafael Leao cross – which came from great movement in the middle of three defenders – once again confirmed his extraordinary nose for goals.
From August onwards it will be up to Gonçalo Ramos to show he is fit for the No.9 shirt. The club and the fans hope that the Portuguese striker can confirm his achievements and definitively put an end to the long curse that has accompanied many of his predecessors.
… while we’re hoping 74 mil will have been worth it.
Pato was number 7??
And the “curse” was purified by Giroud so its gone
He switched to 9 afterwards, he took it when Pippo retired in 2012.
Get back Giroud. Two in one, we’d have a GK then too.
Boy I can only wish him all the luck and do mean ALLL the luck. Everyone’s luck combined to be his lol
The infamous number 9 shirt for Milan and also 74mils. He’ll have his work cut out for him
Now Milan needs to go and get a decent backup. Gimenez is certainly not it.
Ramos needs to score at least 10 goals.