Cristiano Ronaldo is the last player to succeed wearing the No 7 shirt at Manchester United

Alexis Sanchez is the latest player to fall victim to the No 7 curse at the Old Trafford club

But the 29-year-old is not the only player in recent years to have struggled at United after being handed the No 7 shirt.

Five players have donned the iconic shirt since Cristiano Ronaldo left United for Real Madrid in 2009 and all of them have failed to hit the heights of their predecessors.

As well as Ronaldo, the shirt has connotations with United legends such as George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, which understandably brings another dimension of pressure.

Angel Di Maria also wore the shirt during his spell at United and failed to hit the heights

Sanchez is the latest player struggling to cope with that burden, but the four players to wear the shirt before him did not fare any better.

Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay all failed to make the No 7 their own at United.

Between them all – including Sanchez – the five players have only scored 13 Premier League goals in a combined 138 games wearing the shirt.

While Ronaldo – who originally rejected the No 7 when he joined United in 2003 – netted 68 times during the six years he wore the shirt at Old Trafford.

Considering Depay and Di Maria have since gone on to shine in France and given the form Sanchez has shown this season – and indeed since he moved to the club from Arsenal in January – there may just be a case for the No 7 curse.