Sounds like making a mountain out of a molehill. He wears 88 at Fiorentina, right? Was there no outrage at that?
There's a sort of negative experience with 88. It WILL provoke discussion. This is not good. You want to focus on playing football. It is easier to change the number than to win every discussion. Play with 86. Play with 68. If it really is only a number, which is what you're claiming, it should be easy to play with another number too.
