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GUADALUPE, MEXICO - JUNE 29: Ismael Saibari #11 of Morocco during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between Netherlands and Morocco at Monterrey Stadium on June 29, 2026 in Guadalupe, Mexico. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ismael Saibari is now a Bayern Munich player, which means he must choose a shirt number to wear on the back of his shirt. The 24-year-old Moroccan has opted to wear the number 34. If one connects the dots, then you might remember former Ajax midfielder and Moroccan international Abdelhak Nouri.
In July 2017, in a friendly match against Werder Bremen, Nouri collapsed on the pitch due to cardiac arrythmia which cause severe and permanent brain damage. This incident meant Nouri couldn’t continue his career as a footballer. Nouri, now aged 29, is still alive but he hasn’t been able to move unaided since then. “I’m supporting him by wearing the 34, it was his last number,” Saibari said (via @iMiaSanMia).
Shirt numbers over 23 are a bit unusual but not uncommon, with Jamal Musiala then Lennart Karl wearing #42, Aleksandar Pavlović wearing #45. Even Trent Alexander-Arnold (#66, Liverpool) and João Neves (#87, Paris Saint-Germain) wore high numbers on their shirt, but Saibari chose 34 because it was a tribute to his friend. Ajax also retired Nouri’s number 34, which was then adopted by many of Nouri’s former teammates at both club and international level.
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