Why Donnarumma can’t wear his Milan number at Manchester City | OneFootball

TalkSport reports that a ‘little-known’ Premier League rule prevented Gigio Donnarumma from taking the No. 99, the same one he had at Milan, at Manchester City.

Donnarumma’s Manchester City transfer was confirmed on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

Donnarumma’s squad No. at Man City revealed

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JULY 13: Gianluigi Donnarumma #1 of Paris Saint-Germain looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

As Football Italia exclusively reported on deadline day, Manchester City paid €27m to secure the services of the Italy captain, while Donnarumma will earn €15m in the first year of his stay at the Etihad Stadium.

Donnarumma has picked No. 25 at Manchester City, but, as reported by TalkSport, his first option was the No.99, the same he had at Milan.

REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – JUNE 9: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy during the FIFA 2026 Qualifier between Italy and Moldova at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on June 09, 2025 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

TalkSport reports that the Premier League has established more restrictive rules to push players to pick more conventional numbers.

Why Donnarumma could not wear No. 99 at Man City

Gianluigi Donnarumma during a press conference at Coverciano on June 6, 2025 (Football Italia).

Although players can still pick numbers from 1 to 99, the Premier League is eager to prevent players from selecting high numbers to stick to the footballing tradition.

Furthermore, lower numbers are easier to be recognised by fans, officials and commentators, but the commercial side of things also has an impact, given that the use of more traditional numbers helps with marketing and sales of English clubs.