Kit Talk: Romero reveals he designs his own gloves

Sergio Romero will be looking forward to more action with Manchester United after the current international break.

The Argentina keeper took part in our Kit Talk feature recently and revealed he designs his own gloves, as well as letting us in on some other secrets.

He tells us what he has on his shin-pads, why he wears the no.22 jersey and which are his favourite shirts.

Why do you wear the no.22 shirt?
“Because I was born on 22 February, so I've always liked the number 22. Since I was very young, when I got into Racing Club's first team in Argentina, the number 22 had been taken, so I waited for a year. The following year, when it became available, I took it. I wore no.22 for four years and went to Holland with AZ Alkmaar. When I arrived, the no.22 had been taken so I waited a year and, when it became available, I took it and, at every team I've been at, I've worn it. I even wore no.22 at Sampdoria and now here at Manchester United.”

Do you wear anything a specific way such as long sleeves or pull the sleeves over your hands?
“Yes, my match top is always cut up to here [gestures towards his neck]. In my first year at Manchester United, neither [kit men] Alec [Wylie] or Bucks [Ian Buckingham] knew my personal preferences, and they'd bring me a top with long sleeves. I'd grab the scissors and snip, snip, snip, and it would always be cut unevenly and it didn't look good. But I've never liked playing in long-sleeved tops, the base layer can be long but, if it's warm, I'll also cut that because I like to feel loose.”

Have you ever had anything custom made for you?
“Well, in the last four or five years, I've worn my own brand of gloves. I grab a piece of paper, I design it and I send it off to be made. I'm really happy with the result. I think when you're comfortable, when you put your hand inside the glove, and you feel comfort and that your hand fits well, and when there are no extra spaces, that's the most important thing. And then the rubber grip that you have to have here [gestures with his fingers], must be good when handling the ball. But there's nothing really out of the ordinary. I've used many brands in my life but, these last four or five years, when I've played with my own brand, I've been very happy.”

How many pairs of boots do you get through in a season?
“In a season, you might end up wearing easily around 10 pairs out of the ones you use for games and those you use in training. I don't have a particular kind of boot. I like to wear whatever, so I can't really pick one as a favourite.”

What size boots do you wear?
“I think, in UK sizes, it's a 9.5 because the US size is 10.”

Do you have anything written or inscribed on them?
“No, not nowadays because I'm not sponsored by a brand. I don't have anything written on there. Before, I had the names of my entire family but, nowadays, I don't.”

What about your shinpads? Some players have sentimental pictures attached to them?
“Yes, on my shinpads, I have a photo of myself with the names of my wife and daughters and, on the other side, I have a photo of my wife and daughters' faces and the Argentine flag.”

What is your favourite United kit from over the years?
“I liked the one we had last season, which was all orange, and the new all-black one we have now is really nice.”

What is your favourite non-United kit?
“I like Racing's kits. In the way that people here are fans of Manchester United, I still follow Racing in Argentina and, when a new shirt or new kit comes out, I try to buy it because I have all of the national-team ones.”

Do you keep any shirts from your career or from opponents? Have you any plans with what you’re going to do with them?
“Yes, normally I do but, generally, when I swap shirts with another player, it's because I know them because they're Argentinian, because we play together in the national team or because we played together at a club. Like in pre-season, when we played AC Milan. I'd played with Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli and Lucas Biglia. I've played many years with Lucas in the Argentina national team, while Alessio and I played together at Sampdoria. So I swapped shirts with those two.”