Malouda, who was a French international at the time, came in during the 2007/2008 season.
However, Jose Mourinho brought him down to earth by refusing to give him the no.7 shirt.
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My first conversation with Jose Mourinho was great," Florent Malouda revealed to Ladbrokes in 2022.
I was so relieved to have got the green light to travel to London to finalise my contract.
We talked for a while about which number I was going to wear. In France, I wore the number seven shirt, so I asked Jose about the availability of that. He said 'No, Sheva (Andriy Shevchenko) is number seven. Forget about it'."