Trent is now set to join Real Madrid – but he will need to say goodbye to his number 66 Find out more

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Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be allowed to wear the number 66 should he complete a move to Real Madrid in the summer, thanks to a little-known La Liga rule. The Liverpool defender has reportedly agreed to join the Spanish giants on a free transfer, meaning he will leave his boyhood club at the end of the season.

Having come through the academy system at Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold has stuck with the same squad number he was handed when he first broke into the senior squad, despite the fact he has worn the numbers 2, 7, 8, and even 10 on the international stage. And it turns out, he may have to resort to one of those figures at club level, with 66 set to be put into retirement.

Why Trent Alexander-Arnold Wears Number 66 for Liverpool

Alexander-Arnold Unable to Wear 66 for Real Madrid

La Liga rules state that squad numbers for first team players can’t go that high

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Should the defender make the move to the Santiago Bernabeu, La Liga rules state that he will not be able to sport a 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 star must wear a number between 1-25.

Youth players who are not registered to 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 is for the same reason that Spanish clubs cannot retire shirt numbers in honour of players, as has been suggested Barcelona do for Lionel Messi. 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.