Barcelona leave crucial shirt number for the first time in 18 years with a history of bad luck

Barcelona have started the 2025/26 season with a detail that has not been seen at the club in nearly two decades.

As reported by SPORT , for the first time in 18 years, the number 2 shirt remains unassigned in the first team, which is a rare situation for a squad where this number has always carried a strong tradition.

Since fixed squad numbers were introduced in the 1995/96 season, the number 2 has typically belonged to the right-back position.

Over the years, 12 different players have worn it, with Pau Cubarsí being the only exception as a non-full-back to take on the shirt.

Right now, Barcelona’s right-back role is covered not by specialists but by two defenders repurposed for the task.

Jules Kounde has already been established as a makeshift right-back, while Eric Garcia has surprisingly started the season in that very role with more prominence than expected.

Despite both competing for the position, neither player opted to claim the number 2 shirt, leaving it vacant for the current campaign.

Dani Alves defined Barcelona’s number 2 shirt. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The absence of an owner is unusual, particularly given the number’s deep association with Barça’s right-backs.

However, recent history shows that the shirt has not brought much fortune to its wearers.

Looking back, the last player who truly dignified the number 2 shirt was Dani Alves, between 2010 and 2013. Since then, the shirt has been passed around without much stability or success.

From Hector Bellerin to Joao Cancelo, who mixed moments of brilliance with inconsistency, the number 2 has rarely been a source of pride in the last decade.

Sergino Dest arrived as a promising prospect but quickly faded, while Nelson Semedo delivered solid yet unremarkable performances.

The less said about Douglas, one of the club’s strangest signings in recent memory, the better.

Even further back, Martin Caceres wore the number in 2008/09 after a season in which it had gone unclaimed, marking the last time the shirt was left deserted before this year.