Manchester United fans were stunned to learn that they cannot get the names of three former players printed on the club’s new kit.
Excitement for the new Premier League season is growing with less than two weeks to go before the opening game between champions Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Clubs are finishing off their pre-season preparations, with United taking on Everton and Fiorentina before kicking-off the new campaign against Arsenal on August 17.
Supporters are also gearing up the season by getting their hands on the new Red Devils home and away shirts, but those who recently ventured to the Old Trafford megastore were in for a surprise.
As shared on social media by a fan, a sign displaying United’s shirt printing policy states: ‘Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to print Cantona, Beckham, and Ronaldo,’ on the back of shirts.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo are of course three of the greatest players in United’s history and three icons of football.
All wore the iconic No.7 shirt and won a total of 21 major trophies during their time in Manchester.
Yet, United have confirmed that as the trio own their image rights, their names cannot be printed on replica kits at the club’s own shop.
Additionally, it is said this policy is not new and has actually been in place for a number of years.
United are not the only club who have this issue, as it was reported last year that Real Madrid had banned fans from getting names of several Los Blancos legends on new kits, including Beckham and Ronaldo.
Matheus Cunha: ‘Dream to wear No.10 shirt’
Fans still have plenty of other names they can choose from, including new signings Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon who will wear numbers 10, 19 and 30 this season.
It is an unusual sight to see Cunha donning the famous United No.10 shirt which had been worn by Marcus Rashford since 2018.
‘It’s something that you always dream about,’ the forward said upon signing and taking over the number earlier this summer.
‘I can mention many players that use this shirt. It’s so easy for me.
‘Of course, I think the one that I always think about when I see this number in this shirt for me was Wayne Rooney. He was someone that I grew up to watch him play and I have [watched] many games now.
‘Then I swapped shirts with Marcus [after a game] also, I have his shirt in my home. But, of course, we know many players used this shirt – [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic.
‘It’s the dream not only to use the shirt, but with all the history they have around the number, it’s something beautiful that I have the privilege to do it.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.