Kai Havertz: Why the German star wears the number 29 shirt

There are a select few squad numbers that the majority of attacking players covet the most - namely seven, nine, ten and 11.

The number 29 is certainly not one of them - unless your name is Kai Havertz.

The German forward has become synonymous with the lofty digits since his time at Bayer Leverkusen, and now-former Chelsea man Fikayo Tomori even switched shirts so Havertz could take on 29 when he signed for the Blues in 2020.

But why does Havertz have such a specific choice of preferred shirt number?

Why does Kai Havertz wear number 29?

Havertz signed for Chelsea for a cool £72m in 2020, and it was reported at the time that he had specifically requested to wear the number 29 despite the number 10 being available following Willian's departure.

Tomori was the current incumbent at the time, and he acquiesced to the request - switching to the 14 to free up the 23-year-old's preferred shirt.

Havertz explained his unique choice in an interview with The Athletic in 2021, revealing that it was a kind of nod to his relationship with his brother, Jan.

“When I was young I always used to play FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer with my brother,” he said. “We always made ourselves in the game. My brother always put number 29 on his shirt.

“When I came to the professional game and Leverkusen asked me what number I wanted to have, I asked them which numbers were free. When they said 29, I said I’d take it because of my brother."

He added: “Sometimes it’s lucky for me, sometimes not, but I like the number and now I think everybody knows me for it.”

The subject of Havertz's shirt number choice was raised again when he conducted an AMA (ask me anything) on Twitter in July 2022.

Asked whether the number meant something special to him, Havertz responded: "Me and brother used to use 29 when we created ourself on FIFA05."

Havertz currently wears the number seven shirt for Germany, although the numbers do not go as high as 29 at international level.