Sports Illustrated FC
·12 June 2025
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid Shirt Number, Surprise Name Change Confirmed

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Yahoo sportsSports Illustrated FC
·12 June 2025
Trent Alexander-Arnold will wear the No. 12 shirt at Real Madrid, it has been confirmed.
The right back emerged from Liverpool’s academy wearing 66 and retained that number up until his departure from Anfield earlier this summer, but La Liga rules mean he cannot carry it with him over to Spain.
Madrid managed to bring Alexander-Arnold’s arrival forward in time for this summer’s Club World Cup and have included him on their squad list for the group stage, with FIFA’s official documentation revealing his number change.
Alexander-Arnold is down as wearing 12 for the tournament. The Club World Cup does not have any strict rules on shirt numbers and so he would have been free to keep 66 for a few more weeks, but it appears as though he is making an immediate change.
The news was soon confirmed in Alexander-Arnold’s official unveiling, with the defender holding his new shirt alongside club president Florentino Pérez.
That is not the only drastic alteration made by Alexander-Arnold, who will do away with his family name on the back of his shirt. In its place, the England international will use his first name, Trent.
Alexander-Arnold hinted at this change on social media, changing his Instagram username from “@trentarnold66” to simply “@trent”.
Real Madrid’s No.12 shirt has not been worn since Eduardo Camavinga traded in the number at the end of the 2023–24 season. The Frenchman now wears 6.
The 12 is associated with one of the finest defenders in Madrid history. Brazilian icon Marcelo owned that shirt from his arrival in 2007 right up to his departure in the summer of 2022.
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