Why Trent Alexander-Arnold can't wear his iconic shirt number at Real Madrid
03/26/2025 03:19 PM
La Liga rules mean Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be able to wear his iconic shirt number should he complete a move to Real Madrid in the summer.
Alexander-Arnold’s future has been the subject of intense speculation for much of this season, with the 26-year-old right-back nearing the end of his current contract at Liverpool.
Madrid’s interest in Alexander-Arnold stretches back a number of years and widespread reports this week suggest the Spanish champions are closing in on a deal for the England international.
The growing realisation that Liverpool look likely to lose a player of Alexander-Arnold’s calibre on a free transfer has left many supporters outraged – and a similar story could unfold with both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk over the coming months.
A boyhood fan of the Reds, Alexander-Arnold made his debut under Jurgen in 2016 and the Scouser has gone on to win seven trophies with the Merseyside giants, including the Premier League and the Champions League.
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An 18-year-old Alexander-Arnold broke through wearing the No.66 and the full-back has since made the unusual number his own, clearly taking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach.
But he would be forced into a change should the proposed switch to the Bernabeu materialise as La Liga rules stop players from wearing anything above 25 – the maximum squad size that teams can register.
This same rule has prevented the likes of Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from retiring numbers made famous by club legends, a gesture that has become commonplace in English football.
However, youth players that are not already registered are permitted to wear numbers higher than 25 in the Spanish top flight.
Alexander-Arnold dons the No.18 when representing England at international level, but this number is currently worn by Spanish central defender Jesus Vallejo at Real Madrid.
In 2020, Liverpool’s kit management coordinator, Lee Radcliffe, shed some light on why Alexander-Arnold had resisted the urge to swap his No.66 for a more classic figure.
‘When we get any young lads that come down from the academy, we always try to give them a high-ish number,’ he told Liverpool's official website.
‘We don't like to give them a low number. In case they sort of think they've made it straight away, if you know what I mean.
‘When you see him now lifting trophies and celebrating with No.66 on the back, it's a weird feeling.
‘It's weird to see such a high number and for someone to be happy with it.
‘I think he's that laid back that he's obviously been given the number and thought, “Yeah, that'll do me. I'll keep that”, and not realised how iconic it's become over the years.’
Arne Slot has refused to be drawn into the speculation surrounding Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk, with the incessant rumours threatening to overshadow the back-end of what has been a remarkable debut season for the Dutch manager in Premier League football.
Facing the media after a widely reported approach from Madrid for Alexander-Arnold in January, Slot insisted he had seen nothing to suggest the defender was not ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool.
‘These conversations I have never shared, not about Trent, not about any others, about what I talk to them about,’ the Liverpool head coach told reporters.
‘Hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-a-year, because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here.
‘I see him on the training ground every day working his a** off. He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday.
‘If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem because if you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world everybody is always – for 12 months long – talking about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs.
‘That happens so many times for our players, so if that destabilises them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but in the last six months because there were some talks about our players in the last six months and I don’t think it destabilised them at all.’
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