A little-known La Liga rule will prevent Trent Alexander-Arnold from wearing the number 66 shirt at Real Madrid.
The 26-year-old defender has agreed to join Los Blancos, according to talkSPORT, who claim he has agreed personal terms over a lucrative five-year deal worth in excess of £220,000-per-week.
Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract at Premier League leaders Liverpool this summer, will end a 20-year association with his boyhood club if he does sign on the dotted line for Carlo Ancelotti’s side following months of negotiations.
After joining Liverpool’s academy in 2004 at the age of six, Trent captained the club across its youth levels before making his senior debut in 2016.
Here, he wore 66 – a shirt number that was deliberately assigned to him by the club’s kit management coordinator, Lee Radcliffe, to keep the defender humble and avoid him feeling like he’d already made it.
Alexander-Arnold has always sported the number 66 shirt throughout his spell at Liverpool, but the full-back will have to change that squad number should he join the ranks at Real Madrid.
That’s because La Liga rules require clubs to submit 25-player first-team squads featuring numbers from 1 to 25.
In fact, players in the 25-man A-squad must wear a number between 1 and 25, while goalkeepers must wear 1, 13 or 25. Reserve team players selected to play for the first-team are handed squad numbers between 26 and 50.
Alexander-Arnold has previously worn the numbers 2, 7, 8, and 10 on the international stage with England but at the time of writing, there are just three squad numbers available at Real Madrid.
The number 12 is currently the lowest, while 24 and 25 are also free, although the number 25 is often reserved for the third-choice goalkeeper.
Alexander-Arnold has worn the number 66 shirt throughout his time at Liverpool. Image credit: Getty
Back in December, Alexander-Arnold addressed his future in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I have been at the club 20 years now and I have signed four or five contract extensions… and none of those have been played out in public,” he said. “This one won’t be either.”
The 26-year-old has previously refused to commit himself to his boyhood club beyond this season.
“I have always said I want to captain the club,” he said when asked about his future plans. “That is a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands. I want to be a Liverpool player this season (as a minimum) is what I will say.”
Asked what will have the biggest influence on his decision-making process, Alexander-Arnold replied: “The most important thing is always trophies. I want to win trophies. We were close to the title last season and we got a cup. The (quadruple) was on for a while I suppose.”
He added: “This season we are looking really good, it is still early days, but we need a lot of consistency. It will be difficult but we are looking to win as many trophies as we can.”
