Paulo Dybala turned down an offer to wear the number 10 shirt at Roma because he believes it still belongs to club icon Francesco Totti.
Roma snapped up Argentina international Dybala on a three-year contract on Wednesday after his deal with Juventus expired.
Totti made 786 appearances and scored 307 goals in a 25-year career with the Giallorossi that came to an end at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. The club has not had a number 10 since then.
Dybala was grateful to be offered the chance to wear the shirt but felt it should remain Totti's. However, he did not rule out donning it in future.
"I spoke to the general manager and he asked if I wanted to take number 10, which of course is so significant here because of everything Francesco Totti did," Dybala said in a club interview.
"I think that shirt and that number should remain his because of what he means to the city and the fans. I thanked him because wearing a shirt like that requires a lot of respect and responsibility.
"I still see it as his shirt. Maybe I'll wear it one day but for now I'm happy to have number 21, which is the number I wore when I first started to be successful. Hopefully I'll now start being successful here too."
Jose Mourinho steered Roma to their first trophy since 2008 by winning the Europa Conference League last season and Dybala wants to help them push for more silverware.
The five-time Scudetto winner is looking forward to working alongside Mourinho, who he considers to be one of the all-time great coaches.
"First of all, I want to get into peak shape so that I'm on a par with the other players mentally and physically and help the team doing my job. I want to help this team to carry on winning, with the mentality they acquired last season thanks to the coach, and with my own experience.
"Of course, the World Cup is around the corner so I'll be doing my absolute best to help this team and reach the tournament in the best shape possible, then hopefully be in the mix for some silverware at the end of the season."
He added: "Everyone knows who Mourinho is, what he's achieved in the game and what he can do. It was an exciting conversation and we spoke for a long time. It was a very nice chat.
"I've been fortunate to play with some of the greatest players of all time and now I'll get to work with one of the greatest coaches of all time."
Inter 2-0 Torino: Nerazzurri ease to win in party atmosphere
Hakan Calhanoglu scored twice to give newly-crowned Serie A champions Inter a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Torino on Sunday, extending their unbeaten league run to 28 games.
It was a party atmosphere at the San Siro with confetti and fireworks before kick-off as the Inter fans continued to celebrate the Scudetto title they secured on Monday with a 2-1 derby win over Milan.
Inter's win over Torino moves them onto 89 points, 19 clear of Milan with four games remaining.
The Torino players gave Inter a guard of honour as they entered the pitch and Inter coach Simone Inzaghi answered the crowd's call for him to celebrate with them.
In the first Serie A game to be officiated by an all-female refereeing team, four minutes after half-time Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi sent off Torino's Adrien Tameze for a foul on Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Inter made the breakthrough seven minutes later when Mkhitaryan passed to Calhanoglu in the area who drove a shot into the bottom corner.
Calhanoglu converted a penalty four minutes later after a foul on Marcus Thuram and the party will continue into the evening as the Inter players parade through the streets of Milan on open-top buses.
Torino remain 10th in the standings on 46 points.
St. Mirren 1-2 Rangers: Dessers nets winner as Gers keep touch on Celtic
Rangers boosted their Scottish Premiership title hopes as Cyriel Dessers' strike earned a narrow 2-1 win over St. Mirren at the SMISA Stadium on Sunday.
Rangers were ahead with 32 minutes played as Zach Hemming failed to deal with a cross before James Bolton inadvertently put through his own net under pressure from Dessers.
But St. Mirren hit back just five minutes later as Mikael Mandron nodded goalwards, with the ball flying just past the fingertips of Jack Butland before going in off the post to send the teams into the break level.
Rangers needed a response in the second half, and they got exactly that with 18 minutes left to play as Dessers was left with far too much space in the middle to head James Tavernier's cross into the back of the net.
The hosts huffed and puffed for another equaliser but ultimately could not find one as Rangers held on for three much-needed points that move them level with leaders Celtic but with an inferior goal difference, leaving them second ahead of Celtic's visit to Dundee later on Sunday.
St. Mirren, meanwhile, remain fifth in the Scottish Premiership table.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
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