Diego Moreira Embraces Legacy of No 22 Shirt

Diego Moreira didn’t just pick a number. He picked a legacy.

On the night of his first Derby della Madonnina, the Belgian winger steps into San Siro wearing the No 22 shirt that still belongs, in many Milan hearts, to one man: Kaká.

Speaking to DAZN’s “Remember the Name” series before kick-off against Inter, Moreira made it clear he understands exactly what he has taken on.

“I wanted the No 7 when I arrived. When I found out it was available I could have changed, but I'm happy with 22,” he said. “It's an honour, and now it's up to me to show I can follow in his footsteps, because he left a legacy here.”

That legacy is stitched into derby folklore. Kaká’s first goal for Milan came in this very fixture, a 3-1 win over Inter in October 2003 that helped announce him to Europe. One strike, on one of the game’s grandest stages, and the No 22 became part of the club’s modern identity.

Moreira knows the story. He has studied it.

“I know he scored his first goal against Inter. It's one of the biggest games in Europe, so we're fired up,” he added. “If I get to play in this game, I'll die for my team. I can't wait.”

This is not a quiet introduction. Milan paid a reported €50m plus add-ons to bring the 22-year-old from Strasbourg in August, handing him a five-year contract and, with it, a clear statement about the future of their attack.

The start has not been seamless. Hamstring fatigue kept him out of the last two league matches — the 2-0 win at Udinese and the chaotic 4-2 home defeat to Bologna on Wednesday. Any doubts about his availability for the derby, though, were swept away when Rúben Amorim confirmed he is fit for the clash.

Fit, and walking straight into a furnace.

Milan arrive at the derby in fifth place on 18 points, seven adrift of Inter and Lazio at the top. The table adds an edge to a rivalry that never needs one. Slip again, and the gap begins to look like a chasm. Win, and the season feels alive.

For Moreira, the stakes are layered. This is not just about points, or bragging rights in the city. It is about whether a young winger can begin to make the No 22 his own, under the same floodlights where Kaká wrote his first chapter.

He asked for a different number. He stayed with this one.

Now he has the stage to justify it.