Rodrigo de Paul is the great signing of the summer at Atlético. The Argentine is in Madrid, he has cut his holidays for it, and he already has his red-and-white shirt, but still it is not known with which number. In reality, right now there are not many free options in the squad, although with the passing of the weeks there may be more, some of the footballer's liking, according to what he has used in his career.
If you want the most recent ones, you have it complicated. De Paul was proclaimed champion of the America's Cup with the 7, that at Atlético is property by João Félix, Griezmann inheritance, which, by the way, if you come back you will have to look for a number as well. And in Udinese, the Argentine defended during his five years the number 10. At Atlético, his owner is his teammate Angel Correa, who kept it in 2018, when Carrasco released him when he went to China.
What numbers are now free at Atlético? The 5 that Torreira and Thomas and the 19 by Dembélé and Diego Costa. These are De Paul's options at the table if you prefer not to wait. However, there will be news. Marcos Paulo, the first signing, did choose a number when he arrived: the twenty that Vitolo left. Of course, the Brazilian is not guaranteed a place in the squad. If loaned out, De Paul could keep a number he wore both in Valencia and Racing.
De Paul likes round numbers. We say that in Udinese he carried the 10; in Valencia, the twenty and in Racing, the 10, the twenty and the 30. With Argentina, he has changed more and has gone through the 16 (Herrera), the fifteen (Savic), the 8 (Saúl) and the 7. If there were news with the Saúl case, De Paul could ask for the 8 brought before, among others, by Raúl García and Luis Aragonés. Most likely the 17 of Saponjic and the 3 by Manu Sánchez. Rodrigo will already be thinking about it …