Victor Munoz Joins Liverpool and Takes Iconic No.23 Shirt

Victor Munoz has barely unpacked his bags at Liverpool, but he has already stepped into a piece of club folklore.

The Spain international, fresh from winning the World Cup and joining from Osasuna in June, reported back for pre-season at the AXA Training Centre this week. His arrival placed him in rare company: he is only the sixth player to become a world champion while on Liverpool’s books, and the first since compatriots Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres in 2010.

One detail had lingered in the background during his summer heroics – his shirt number. While fellow new signing Jeremy Jacquet quickly took the No.5, Munoz’s choice stayed under wraps while he was away on international duty.

Now the wait is over. Andoni Iraola’s side confirmed on Wednesday that Munoz will wear the No.23.

It is not just any spare number on the rail. At Anfield, 23 carries a certain weight.

Luis Diaz was the last to pull it on, using it in the 2022/23 season before moving to the No.7 shirt, a number worn by only five players for Liverpool in the Premier League era. Before Diaz, the 23 had already been woven into the club’s modern identity.

Historical Significance of No. 23

Jamie Carragher turned it into a symbol of defiance and durability, wearing 23 for every one of his 16 seasons in the first team. The Bootle-born defender grew into a standard-bearer for the club, and the number became synonymous with his name on the Kop.

Robbie Fowler was the trailblazer. The academy graduate was the first to give No.23 a life of its own, wearing it for three seasons before switching to the No.9 shirt ahead of the 1996/97 campaign after Ian Rush’s departure from the Anfield front line. In those early years, 23 was the backdrop to Fowler’s emergence as one of English football’s deadliest finishers.

Emre Can and Xherdan Shaqiri followed in later eras, adding their own chapters without quite redefining the number in the way Carragher had.

Now it passes to Munoz, a newly crowned world champion stepping into a shirt with history stitched into the back. For Liverpool supporters, the sight of No.23 sprinting out at Anfield will stir memories of tackles, goals and title chases gone by.

What comes next is his to write.