Cliff Notes – Cole Palmer: I wanted No 10 shirt to emulate Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney
- Cole Palmer expressed his desire to wear Chelsea’s iconic No. 10 shirt, inspired by football legends Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney, after previously donning No. 20.
- The 23-year-old playmaker downplayed any potential disagreements with head coach Enzo Maresca, clarifying his comments about wanting to play more expressively were not directed at the manager.
- Palmer, who joined Chelsea for £42.5 million in September 2023, aims to maintain a sense of normalcy despite his rising fame, emphasising the importance of enjoying the game.
Cole Palmer: I wanted No. 10 shirt to emulate Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney
Cole Palmer has revealed he wanted Chelsea’s number 10 shirt to emulate his idols Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.
The 23-year-old previously played with No. 20 on his back but changed ahead of the Club World Cup and wore his new number for the first time in Monday’s 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC.
Asked if the there were any number 10s he particularly saw as role models, Palmer said: “Messi, the big one, Rooney and players like that. It’s just an iconic number. I wore No. 10 all my life growing up and I just like the number.”
Former Chelsea greats Eden Hazard, Joe Cole and Willian wore the number 10 shirt but it was most recently taken by Mykhailo Mudryk, who is facing a potential ban of up to four years after the Football Association charged him on Wednesday with a doping offence relating to a positive drugs test.
“I have not spoken to Misha yet but I will when the time is right,” said Palmer. “It is not really my place to get involved with him at the minute. I will speak to him.”
Palmer also played down any suggestions of a disagreement with head coach Enzo Maresca over Chelsea’s style of play.
After creating two assists to help the Blues fight back against Real Betis to win last month’s Conference League final, Palmer claimed he was “sick of going backwards and sideways” and Maresca subsequently claimed he spoke to the playmaker a day later to urge him to be more expressive.
“We had a joke about it,” said Palmer. “My comments weren’t towards the manager or anything. It was just a personal thing. I felt like in the game, I was maybe being a bit safe. So that’s where the comment came from.
“I wanted to get the ball and try something different than previously. Obviously you can’t take the p— and do like whatever you want and stuff, but I feel like he [Maresca] still gives you a little bit of room to try and see what I can do.”
Palmer is one of the poster boys of the Club World Cup, his face adorning large banners located across Philadelphia, where Chelsea are based for the next week ahead of games against Flamengo and Esperance Sportive de Tunis.
Palmer joined Chelsea for a deal worth £42.5 million in September 2023 after just 19 Premier League appearances for Manchester City but has quickly established himself as one of English football’s brightest talents.
Asked about his new-found fame and whether people stop him in the street, Pamer said: “I am just a normal kid so when people do stuff like that I think … why me?
“I still do the same things now that I did before I came to Chelsea. I try and think it’s just a game of football at the end of the day, like it’s not life or death. So I just try and enjoy it. I like to go and play five-side and go to the astro [turf] and just do normal things [to take my mind off things].”