Trent Alexander-Arnold will be forced to change from his iconic No.66 following his move to Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold has now had his switch to Real confirmed after saying an emotional goodbye to Anfield last weekend.
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He has signed a six-year contract with the Spanish giants, who have paid Liverpool £10million to allow him to join the club early so he can play in the Club World Cup.
But as huge a move as it is for Alexander-Arnold, it will force him into a change he may not have wanted to make.
Why will Trent have to give up No.66?
The right-back is going to have to switch from the No.66 shirt, which he has worn for his entire professional career.
It has become an iconic Liverpool strip over the years, with Alexander-Arnold starring while winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League wearing the digits.
He has worn multiple different numbers on the back of his kit for England, including 2, 7, 8 and 10.
But it’s still going to be tough for him to switch from 66 – and he has no choice when he begins to play in LaLiga.
LaLiga rules state that all players must wear a number between 1-25.
That matches up to the maximum squad size of players registered during a domestic campaign.
Of course, that means Alexander-Arnold’s 66 is well out of the parameters, so he’s going to have to swap.
It’s a rule that has seen Barcelona unable to retire the No.10 shirt for Lionel Messi and Real not allowed to retire No.7 for Cristiano Ronaldo.
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The strictness surrounding those numbers having to be used and available for the 25 registered squad players will see Alexander-Arnold have no choice.
On top of that rule, Real Madrid also seem to have a club-specific condition made by president Florentino Perez.
And that could well have been what forced Jude Bellingham to move from his No.22 to No.5 at Los Blancos.
Real legend Zinedine Zidane revealed that Perez doesn’t like players wearing high numbers and that he prefers 1-11 on the pitch.
Zidane said: “I picked the number five shirt because he [Perez] didn’t want me to have 25, 30, 35. He said ‘this is not football, this is American football’ so in the end I got five.”
So, even if LaLiga rules allowed the use of No.66 in the league, Alexander-Arnold would have likely been asked to change anyways.
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Now, questions will arise over what number he could change to.
Alexander-Arnold won’t be able to have the No.2, that’s at least until Dani Carvajal departs, unless the veteran offers his shirt.
As of this season, the only available shirts at Real are No.12, No.24 and No.25.
Alexander-Arnold was in tears as he said a final farewell to Liverpool fans who have been split by his departure.
His final game for the club was a home draw with Crystal Palace, after which he got to lift the Premier League title.
He will now head straight to Real Madrid, with Los Blancos paying a fee to the Reds so he can feature in their Club World Cup campaign.
It means Alexander-Arnold should make his Real debut on June 18.
