Trent Alexander-Arnold appears to have had a change of heart when it comes to his Liverpool career, with multiple reports linking the full-back with a summer switch to Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold’s current deal with Liverpool is set to expire at the end of the current season, allowing the England international to negotiate with other clubs. Having had a bid rejected for the Liverpool man in January, it appears Madrid is now closing in on the services of Alexander-Arnold.
It would prove a bitter blow for Arne Slot and Liverpool, having seen the defender come through the ranks at the club before making himself a mainstay in the first team in recent years.
It may well come as a surprise to many Liverpool fans, too, after Alexander-Arnold previously committed his long-term future to the club. Speaking to British GQ in 2020, the No. 66 admitted that he could not see him playing elsewhere in Europe, or with any other club for that matter.
“I can, yeah,” Alexander-Arnold replied when asked if he saw himself playing his whole career at Liverpool. “It is not something I have ever really thought about,” he added over the prospect of playing elsewhere in Europe. “I have always loved Liverpool; I have always supported them.
“I have always played for them, so I have never had that reason to think about it. Still, now I wouldn’t sit there in my room and daydream about playing somewhere else. Right now, I am a Liverpool player, I love the club more than anything.” This is not the first time Alexander-Arnold appeared to point his long-time future towards staying at Anfield.
(Image: 2025 DeFodi Images)
Speaking last September, the defender showed ambitions to one day captain his boyhood club. “I have always said I want to captain the club,” he told Sky Sports. “That is a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands.” On Tuesday, TalkSport became the first news outlet in the UK to reveal details on the talks between the 26-year-old and Madrid.
Per the report, Alexander-Arnold has agreed a five-year deal with the Spanish giants, earning £220,000 ($285,000) a week in the process. Providing more in depth right-back spot seems to be a priority of Carlo Ancelotti heading into the summer, having been left light in the position throughout the current campaign.
Club captain Dani Carvajal has been Ancelotti’s go-to man on the right-hand side of his defensive line for some time, but the Spaniard has missed the majority of the campaign, having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. This has left the European champions without a recognized right-back, with both Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde filling in throughout the season.
