The curse of AC Milan's number 9 shirt started in May 2012 when club legend Filippo Inzaghi retired. Over the next 14 years, 13 different strikers wore this famous jersey. Only Olivier Giroud scored more than 10 goals in the number 9 kit, while 10 high-profile forwards failed to reach even 9 goals across all competitions.
The Standard Set by Filippo Inzaghi (2001 to 2012)
Before the jinx began, the red and black number 9 jersey belonged to football royalty. Sports Illustrated states that icons like Marco van Basten (124 goals in 201 matches) and George Weah set massive expectations at San Siro.
Filippo Pippo Inzaghi kept this legacy for 11 seasons from 2001 to 2012. He played 300 matches, scored 126 goals, and won two UEFA Champions League trophies alongside two Serie A Scudetto titles. When he scored his final goal against Novara in May 2012, nobody expected the iconic shirt to become the heaviest burden in Italian football, said by football betting experts at Iranshartbandi.com.
The Banter Era Flops: Pato to Lapadula (2012 to 2017)
The first five years after Inzaghi left coincided with AC Milan's financial decline. The club lost veteran leaders like Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta, and Clarence Seedorf in the same summer. Without elite midfielders creating chances, every new striker struggled.
Alexandre Pato (2012 to 2013): The Brazilian wonderkid scored 61 goals for Milan wearing the number 7 shirt. He switched to number 9 for the 2012/2013 season after Inzaghi retired. Constant thigh injuries ruined his campaign. According to Planet Football, Pato scored just two goals in seven games, won the unwanted Bidone d'Oro award for Serie A's worst player in 2012, and joined Corinthians in January 2013.
Alessandro Matri (2013 to 2014): Coach Massimiliano Allegri pushed the club to buy Matri from Juventus for €11 million. He wore the number 9 and scored only one goal before leaving on loan to Fiorentina in January 2014.
Fernando Torres (2014): Seeking a big name, Milan signed Chelsea striker Fernando Torres on a two-year loan. He netted one header against Empoli in 10 appearances before returning to Atletico Madrid in December 2014.
Mattia Destro (2015): Arriving on loan from AS Roma in January 2015, Destro immediately took the vacant number 9. He scored three goals in 15 Serie A games, and Milan refused to trigger his buyout clause.
Luiz Adriano (2015 to 2016): The Brazilian forward joined from Shakhtar Donetsk after scoring 9 goals in a single Champions League group stage. Wearing number 9 in 2015/2016, he managed six goals in 29 matches before switching to number 7 the following season.
Gianluca Lapadula (2016 to 2017): Signed from Serie B side Pescara, Lapadula worked hard as a substitute. He scored eight goals in 27 appearances. While fans respected his grit, Milan sold him to Genoa after one year.
Big Money Disasters: Andre Silva to Mandzukic (2017 to 2021)
When Chinese businessman Li Yonghong and later Elliott Management took over the club, Milan spent over €120 million on four strikers. None of them survived wearing the number 9 jersey.
Andre Silva (2017 to 2018): Milan paid FC Porto €38 million for the young Portuguese forward. According to betting professionals at Iran Shart Bandi and other stats sites, while Silva scored 10 goals overall, his stats were inflated by Europa League matches against weak teams rather than Serie A performances, where he only scored twice.
Gonzalo Higuaín (2018 to 2019): Higuaín held the Serie A single-season scoring record (36 goals with Napoli). He arrived from Juventus to break the curse. He scored eight goals in 22 matches across all competitions, missed an important penalty, received a red card against his former club Juventus, and left for Chelsea after six months.
Krzysztof Piatek (2019 to 2020): Piatek is the clearest proof of the psychological burden of the shirt. Joining in January 2019, he chose the number 19 jersey and scored 11 goals in 21 matches. Before the 2019/2020 season, he switched to the number 9 shirt. His form collapsed completely. He scored just five goals (mostly penalties) before Milan sold him to Hertha BSC in January 2020.
Mario Mandzukic (2021): Signing as a free agent in January 2021, the Croatian veteran took the number 9. Injuries limited him to 11 appearances and zero goals. He famously donated his March salary to the Milan Foundation because he could not play.
Breaking the Jinx and Recent Wearers (2021 to 2026)
French veteran Olivier Giroud finally ended the curse in 2021. Signed from Chelsea for just €1 million, Giroud ignored the superstition. According to Transfer Market, Giroud is the only player since Inzaghi to score more than 10 goals in the number 9 shirt.
Across three seasons (2021 to 2024), Giroud scored 49 goals in 132 appearances. His iconic double in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan delivered the 2021/2022 Serie A Scudetto. After Giroud left for Los Angeles FC in 2024, the old problems returned:
Luka Jovic (2024 to 2025): The Serbian striker scored nine goals during the 2023/2024 season while wearing number 15. He switched to the number 9 shirt for the 2024/2025 campaign, suffered groin problems, and scored only four goals (two in Serie A and two in Coppa Italia) before departing for AEK Athens.
Niclas Fullkrug & Goncalo Ramos (2026): The number 9 shirt remained completely vacant at the start of the 2025/2026 season after Jovic left. German target man Niclas Fullkrug took the jersey in January 2026, calling it a positive symbol on AC Milan's Official YouTube Channel. Following a brief stint, Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos inherited the number 9 for the 2026/2027 season.
Complete Statistics of AC Milan No. 9s Since 2012
| Player Name | Seasons Wearing No. 9 | Goals in No. 9 Shirt | Transfer Status / Outcome |
| Alexandre Pato | 2012/2013 | 2 | Sold to Corinthians in Jan 2013 |
| Alessandro Matri | 2013/2014 | 1 | Loaned out after 6 months |
| Fernando Torres | 2014/2015 | 1 | Left for Atletico Madrid in Jan 2015 |
| Mattia Destro | 2014/2015 | 3 | Returned to Roma after 6-month loan |
| Luiz Adriano | 2015/2016 | 6 | Switched to No. 7 in 2016 |
| Gianluca Lapadula | 2016/2017 | 8 | Sold to Genoa in 2017 |
| Andre Silva | 2017/2018 | 10 | Loaned to Sevilla in 2018 |
| Gonzalo Higuaín | 2018/2019 | 8 | Loan cut short after 6 months |
| Krzysztof Piatek | 2019/2020 | 5 | Sold to Hertha BSC after 6 months |
| Mario Mandzukic | 2020/2021 | 0 | Released after 6 months |
| Olivier Giroud | 2021/2024 | 49 | Won Scudetto; broke the curse |
| Luka Jovic | 2024/2025 | 4 | Left on free transfer in 2025 |
| Niclas Fullkrug | 2025/2026 | 1+ | Joined mid-season in Jan 2026 |
| Goncalo Ramos | 2026/2027 | Active | Current No. 9 holder |
Why Did the Curse Actually Happen?
Superstition makes a great story, but tactical data explains the real failure behind AC Milan's number 9 shirt. Pippo Inzaghi played ahead of Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Rui Costa, and Clarence Seedorf. In contrast, strikers between 2012 and 2019 played with midfielders who ranked in the bottom half of Serie A for key passes and big chances created.
Milan bought penalty-box poachers like Matri, Destro, and Piatek, then asked them to play isolated hold-up roles 40 yards away from the goal. Both Piatek (11 goals in #19) and Jovic (9 goals in #15) played well at Milan until they took the number 9 jersey. Once they changed numbers, media pressure and fan scrutiny doubled, causing them to rush shots and lose confidence.
Olivier Giroud succeeded because Milan finally built a stable 4-2-3-1 system under Stefano Pioli, with Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez supplying constant crosses into the box. The shirt itself is not magical; it simply demands a world-class mentality and a proper tactical setup.
