With Trent Alexander-Arnold set to be revealed as a Real Madrid player on Thursday, he'll be leaving behind the number 66 he wore at Liverpool.
As the 2024–25 season drew to a close, Trent Alexander-Arnold bid farewell to the only club he'd known in his career. He said goodbye to Liverpool after winning a second Premier League title, trading in red for Real Madrid's white. He'll compete with Dani Carvajal next season, but the 26-year-old should feature in Madrid lineups for the years to come alongside England teammate Jude Bellingham. Xabi Alonso looks to get the most out of the often attacking-minded right back the same way he did with Jeremie Frimpong at Bayer Leverkusen.
Not only is he saying goodbye to one of the biggest and most successful clubs in England, but he'll also have to part with the shirt number he wore during his time on Merseyside: 66.
The Englishman had to give up his favorite shirt number because La Liga does not allow first-team players to wear numbers above 25, the maximum squad size for the season.
Only youth players who climb through the ranks are an exception to the rule, hence why Raúl Asencio wore number 35 this past season. Now that the former Real Madrid Castilla player renewed his contract with Real Madrid until 2029, Asencio will have to choose a new number for the 2025–26 campaign.
Alexander-Arnold will also have to pick a vacant number between one and 25 to wear during his debut season with Los Blancos. The defender has previously worn 2, 7, 8 and 10 for England, but all four of those numbers are taken on Real Madrid by Carvajal, Vinícius Júnior, Fede Valverde and Luka Modrić respectively. Modrić will leave the club at the conclusion of the FIFA Club World Cup, but it's unlikely Alexander-Arnold takes that number.
Twelve, the shirt worn by club legend Marcelo, is available for Alexander-Arnold should he want it. It might not be 66, but it gives Alexander-Arnold a crafty way to pay homage to his old shirt number; after all, six plus six equals 12.
Whatever number Alexander-Arnold lands on will symbolize a fresh start for the player who spent his entire career at Liverpool. During his time with the Reds, the right back won the Champions League and two Premier League titles.
