Trent Alexander-Arnold has many attributes that endear him to the Liverpool faithful, including wearing the number ‘66’ on the back of his shirt.
The Reds full-back has developed into one of the best in his position in world football, and has already competed at the highest level despite only being 21-years-old.
Two Champions League finals, with one winners’ medal, and a Premier League title potentially on the horizon, the story of why the Kirkby Academy graduate wears the number ‘66’ shirt will interest supporters.
Alexander-Arnold made his senior debut for the Reds in a pre-season friendly against Swindon in 2015, where he wore the number two shirt, before donning his now famous number 66 shirt the following summer against Tranmere Rovers.
As it turns out, the reason why the Alexander-Arnold wears the number ‘66’ is down to the club’s kit management coordinator, Lee Radcliffe.
Radcliffe explains the story behind handing Alexander-Arnold the now famous number 66 shirt, and why the 21-year-old is not alone.
"When we get any young lads that come down from the Academy, we always deliberately try to give them a high-ish number," Radcliffe told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We don't like to give them a low number in case they sort of think they've made it straight away, if you know what I mean.
"You pick it out because it's a free number and it's around that sort of number you think, 'We'll give that out because he's only just come down'.
"When you see him now lifting trophies and celebrating with No.66 on the back, it's a weird feeling and I can't really describe it. It's weird to see such a high number and for someone to be happy with it!
"Someone like Trent has just been happy to be around the first team and obviously doesn't realise how good he is. He doesn't really ask for anything, to be honest.
"I think he's that laidback that he's obviously been given the number and thought, 'Yeah, that'll do me. I'll keep that', and not realised how iconic it's become over the years."
Radcliffe went on to say that Alexander-Arnold has never requested to change the number, even as he progressed through the youth ranks at Kirkby.
"Generally what you get after maybe a year – if they stay in and around the first team – is that request to see if they can move down a number,” Radcliffe continued.
"But obviously Trent's got quite attached to the number. He's never asked once [to change it].
"But after his first season and when you realised how good he was going to be, we always used to say, 'Ah, it won't be long now before we get that changed'.
"We always used to keep his training kit and match shirt until the last minute in case we got that call, 'Trent wants his number lowering'.
"It's just never happened and he's obviously happy with it.
"Now because it's actually been kept by Trent, I think it's already quite an iconic number and it's only going to become more iconic I suppose as the years go by and the more games Trent plays.
"I think it's a number quite close to a lot of fans' hearts now, as well as staff, because it's a local lad that's come through.
"The amount of kids you see walking around in a '66', it's weird that it's actually stuck. It was one of them that you give out and expect a year later that it'll get passed on to someone else."
