A game of musical seats is about to unfold at Real Madrid. It happens every summer, as usual, but this time it is warned to be more exciting than ever. That is because the team undergoes significant changes, with important players leaving and new stars arrive to renew the team. And the shirt numbers – always loaded with history and symbolism at Madrid – are about to change hand.
An important shift, still unconfirmed but generally expected, is the departure of Luka Modrić. That would leave the iconic number 10 shirt vacant – probably for Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman bore number 7 at PSG, but that sweater is from Vinícius in Madrid. However, the 10 feels like Mbappé's home base, because this is the song he is wearing for the French national team.
If Mbappé takes the 10, it would free up the number 9. It is not impossible for the song of the legendary striker not to be assigned – it already happened in the 2023-24 season. Joselu was expected to take it upon arrival, but instead chose the 14. This time there is a feeling in Madrid that Endrick will not hesitate to claim the 9 and leave the 16 he worn this season.
Now the question is: which songs will the newcomers of Madrid wear?
So far, two signing sessions have been confirmed-Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The figures currently available, apart from the 10 from Modrić, are 12, 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25 and 25. If Álvaro Carreras joins, Fran García's 20 and Mendy's 22 could also open, because it seems unlikely that Madrid will return with three links next season.
Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold: the next in line
Huijsen recently wore number 2 in Bournemouth, but that shirt is from Dani Carvajal in Madrid, who will be the first captain of the team. However, Huijsen does not seem too concerned. “In Bournemouth, number 2 was almost the only one available, and 12 is the one I wear with the national team. It is not something I worry about. We will see which number I ends,” he said as.
Well, if he wants the 12, it's currently free.
Then there is Alexander-Arnold, who wore 66 in Liverpool. But in Spain, players can only wear numbers 1-25, unless they are youth players without a first team contract dus 66 is gone.
In the national team he is interspersed between numbers 2 and 8, but neither is available in Madrid. However, if you add the 66 figures – 6 + 6 – you get 12. Coincidence? Maybe. But it can be an option.
A voluntary – or even forced – number is also not off the table. Last summer, Vallejo gave up the number 5 shirt for Jude Bellingham, who immediately expressed his gratitude during his first press conference as a Madrid player.