When Florent Malouda requested to wear the No. 7 jersey after joining Chelsea, Jose Mourinho urged him to "forget about it."
The French winger was acquired by the Blues for £13 million in the summer of 2007 despite Liverpool's interest.
The three-year deal the Ligue One Player of the Year signed basically made him Arjen Robben's replacement after the Dutchman left for Real Madrid in the same transfer window for a sum of £24 million.
Malouda tore it up for Lyon while wearing the No. 7, and he was hoping to do so once more at Stamford Bridge.
But when Andriy Shevchenko got hold of it, Mourinho's retort was brief and direct.
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"I had a terrific first conversation with Jose Mourinho. I was so happy to get the go-ahead to go to London and finalize my deal "Malouda said this when Ladbrokes announced their 5-a-side wager on this weekend's match between Chelsea and Tottenham.
"We spent some time discussing the number I would wear. I inquired with Jose regarding the availability of the number seven shirt because I wore it in France. No, Sheva [Andriy Shevchenko] is number seven, he responded. Don't think about it."
The jersey number was vacant until Ramires claimed it after joining from Benfica in 2010. It had become available the previous summer when Shevchenko returned to AC Milan on loan.
Instead, throughout his time at Chelsea, Malouda wore the No. 15 jersey, which had previously been worn by his former Guingamp teammate Didier Drogba.
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Which numbers are accessible, I questioned Mourinho. Malouda carried on.
"Why don't you wear number 15 as your brother Didier did for a few seasons when he first arrived before switching to number 11? he asked. Get your brother's phone number."
Malouda participated in 228 games for Chelsea, scoring 45 goals while helping the team win the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
Following a season of being made to practice with the Under 21 team, he was discharged in 2013.
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