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Kai Havertz wears No29 Chelsea shirt in heartwarming nod to brother after days of playing FIFA and Pro Evo

CHELSEA star Kai Havertz has revealed that he wears the number 29 shirt in a nod to his brother Jan.

Havertz, 22, adopted the number in his first season at Bayer Leverkusen when he learnt of its availability and has stuck by it ever since.

Kai Havertz wears the number 29 shirt in a nod to his video game playing days

And in an interview with The Athletic he explained why it has a special meaning to him.

Havertz said: “When I was young I always used to play FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer with my brother.

“We always made ourselves in the game. I had No 10, golden shoes and things like that. My brother always put No 29 on his shirt.

“When I came to the professional game and Leverkusen asked me what number I wanted to have, I asked them which numbers were free. When they said 29, I said I’d take it because of my brother.

“Sometimes it’s lucky for me, sometimes not, but I like the number and now I think everybody knows me for it.”

The number 29 has certainly worked well for Havertz so far in his short career.

He excelled in his native Germany and scored 46 goals in 150 games in all competitions for Leverkusen, from attacking midfield.

That earned him a £70million move to Chelsea last year and Havertz has gone from strength to strength, playing an important role for both club and country.

He even scored the winner in the Champions League final in May to show how far he has come, and it is a goal that continues to give him goosebumps every time he watches it back.

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Several other footballers have chosen to wear unusual numbers for their own personal reasons.

Former Arsenal striker Niklas Bendtner wore number 26 before switching to 52 in the hope it would bring him luck, but his career deteriorated shortly afterwards.

Jamie Carragher also wore the number 23 for his entire career after being designated the shirt in his first season as a professional.

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