Trent Alexander-Arnold will be prohibited from wearing the number 66 upon his transfer to Real Madrid this summer, due to a lesser-known regulation in La Liga. The Liverpool defender has announced that he will conclude his 20-year affiliation with his childhood club at the season’s end, allowing him to join Real Madrid as a free agent. Having progressed through the academy at Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold has retained the same squad number assigned to him when he first entered the senior team, despite having worn numbers 2, 7, 8, and even 10 at the international level. Consequently, he may need to adopt one of those numbers at the club level, as 66 is set to be retired.
La Liga rules mean that Alexander-Arnold will not be able to wear any number higher than 25, as all numbers for the competition correlate to the number of players that can be registered during the season. Each team in the Spanish top-flight has a maximum of 25 first-team squad slots that players are eligible for, and if handed one, a player must wear a number between 1-25.Youth players who are not registered on the squad list but meet the criteria to still be eligible to play can wear a number above 25, which is why the likes of budding superstar Raul Asencio has been allowed to wear 35 on the back of his jersey this season.It’s for the same reason that Spanish clubs cannot retire shirt numbers in honour of players, as has been suggested that Barcelona should do for Lionel Messi – the man widely regarded as the greatest footballer in history. If they were to do such a thing, they would be left with one fewer number to use, and if they had a full squad of 25 players, it would mean one star would be banned from playing due to not having a squad number that meets the league’s regulations.
At the time of writing, there are only three squad numbers available to Alexander-Arnold at Madrid – all of which he has never worn previously in his career. The number 12 is the lowest number free; however, it is also the last one likely to be taken. While it isn’t a specific rule, most La Liga clubs leave the number 12 free to show respect to their supporters, often referred to as the 12th man.
That then leaves the two highest possible numbers: 24 and 25. Given that 25 is often reserved for the third-choice goalkeeper, it would appear that 24 is currently the most likely option. Current club captain Dani Carvajal wears number 2 and is looking to make his return from a serious injury, though he is out of contract in 2026. Alexander-Arnold has previously worn the number 10 for England, currently sported by Luka Modric, whose deal expires at the end of this season, but the Croatian midfielder has expressed his desire to stay in the Spanish capital.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will be prohibited from wearing the number 66 upon his transfer to Real Madrid this summer, due to a lesser-known regulation in La Liga. The Liverpool defender has announced that he will conclude his 20-year affiliation with his childhood club at the season’s end, allowing him to join Real Madrid as a free agent. Having progressed through the academy at Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold has retained the same squad number assigned to him when he first entered the senior team, despite having worn numbers 2, 7, 8, and even 10 at the international level. Consequently, he may need to adopt one of those numbers at the club level, as 66 is set to be retired.