Martinez Takes Chelsea's Historic No.26 Shirt
Chelsea have a new No.26 – and it is no ordinary number.
The club have confirmed that Martinez will wear the shirt made famous by John Terry, the captain who lifted almost every major trophy in blue with that 26 on his back. Since Terry’s farewell in 2017, the number has barely surfaced, briefly worn by Kalidou Koulibaly and Levi Colwill, but never truly claimed.
For most players, a squad number is just admin. At Chelsea, 26 is different. It carries history, expectation, and a certain edge. By choosing it, Martinez is not hiding. He is walking straight into the conversation about leadership and responsibility at Stamford Bridge.
He also made sure he did it the right way.
Taking on a shirt so closely tied to a club legend can feel like stepping onto sacred ground. Martinez refused to treat it lightly. Before committing, the Argentine goalkeeper picked up his phone and contacted Terry, a man he knows well from their shared time at Aston Villa, where Terry was part of the coaching staff.
"I remember using the 26 on loan a few times with previous clubs, and of course I knew John Terry famously had the 26 here," Martinez said. "John was someone I spoke to before I joined, and he said he was over the moon to have me here. From our time together at Aston Villa, he knows how hard I work and what I can bring to Chelsea. The morning I signed, I texted him and said, 'I'm wearing your shirt, and I'm going to do it with pride'."
That message set the tone. This is not an attempt to replace Terry, but a deliberate tribute to him – and a statement that Martinez wants to bring that same authority into a new era.
A deal that moved at speed
The transfer itself raced through faster than most expected. For weeks, Chelsea had given the impression they were content with their goalkeeping options. Then doubts crept in over recent performances, and the mood shifted.
The club moved decisively, striking a £7.5million deal for the Argentina international, a move that surprised plenty given how settled the depth chart appeared from the outside. Inside Cobham, though, the need for sharper competition was clear.
For Martinez, the speed of it all only heightened the emotion.
"It’s incredible," he said in his first interview as a Chelsea player. "It’s been an amazing few days. Obviously, it happened really quickly, but I'm delighted to be at this football club. I’ve been in England for nearly 17 years and to play for Chelsea is a dream for me."
Seventeen years of graft across English football, and finally a shot at one of the game’s modern powerhouses. No wonder he sounds like a man determined to make it count.
Thrown straight into the fire
There was no gentle introduction, no quiet cup tie to ease him in. Martinez went straight into the starting XI for a wild 4-3 win over Brighton, a game that felt more like a rollercoaster than a debut.
He conceded three, but that only tells part of the story. In the chaos of a high-scoring contest, he produced several crucial saves that kept Chelsea in front and turned what could have been a collapse into three hard-earned points. It was a first glimpse of why the club moved so quickly to bring him in.
Robert Sanchez still wears the No.1 shirt and remains a major figure in the squad. Now, though, he has serious competition behind him – competition dressed in a number that once belonged to one of Chelsea’s greatest captains.
Martinez has taken Terry’s 26 with the blessing of the man himself. The shirt is back in the spotlight. The only question now is whether he can give it a new story to sit alongside the old one.
