Liverpool did not want this news, but at least the saga looks to be at an end: Trent Alexander-Arnold is on his way to Real Madrid in the summer. And while it’s hard to see how things got to this point, the defender has arguably been dropping hints for a very long time.
In a big-picture sense, this is a bitter blow to Liverpool, who is losing perhaps the most valuable player in the squad for nothing. Alexander-Arnold was meant to be a future captain, an all-time Anfield legend, and the thread between the Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot eras.
Questions will rightly be asked of the hierarchy. Given FSG’s insistence on being a sustainable club, allowing this free transfer to happen is tantamount to negligence.
But was there anything Liverpool could have done? Even if Richard Hughes had been in place sooner, even if FSG hadn’t flirted with selling the club, even if Klopp had stayed put, would we be looking at a different outcome?
We’ll never know for sure. But one thing we do know is that Alexander-Arnold’s hints that he might one day leave Liverpool stretch back almost four years.
Hint One: Alexander-Arnold’s 2021 contract extension
The first big hint that Alexander-Arnold might have his eye on one day leaving Liverpool came as far back as 2021. His contract extension seemed like little more than a formality, but the eventual terms should have served as a warning.
Alexander-Arnold did commit to Liverpool, having been catapulted to stardom by Klopp. But notably, the deal he signed ran for just four years.
There’s simply no way that Liverpool did not offer a longer contract. Alisson signed for six years around the same time, while Robertson signed on for five.
(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
So even while he told the press that he wanted to stay at Liverpool forever, wanted to take over the captaincy, Alexander-Arnold was keeping his options open. He made sure that as he entered his prime years, he would be doing so as a free agent.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and players are often too quick to cede their power (just look at Chelsea, where some of the new signings have effectively signed away their entire careers). But it was an early sign that Alexander-Arnold knew even then that he would not necessarily hang up his boots as a one-club man.
Hint Two: Alexander-Arnold’s Ballon d’Or dream
Eyebrows were raised when Alexander-Arnold went public with his ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or. And while this wish is not mutually exclusive with playing for Liverpool, it shows a certain mindset.
Most players would talk about the Premier League or the Champions League as their main motivators. By selecting an individual award, Alexander-Arnold shared an inadvertent insight into how he views his own career: as a relentless quest for personal recognition.
In that respect, Liverpool has been a very useful place for him to raise his status. But as soon as he felt that his personal career goals would be better served elsewhere, perhaps we should have known he was always likely to move on.
For whatever it’s worth, however, he is making a mistake. Even from an individualistic standpoint, Liverpool is the better place for him — as Klopp once warned Philippe Coutinho, he is going somewhere where he will be just another player.
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Hint Three: Alexander-Arnold signing a Real Madrid jersey
Just three weeks ago, Robbie Fowler refused to sign a Man United jersey while at a golf tournament. He’s been retired for years.
Yet Alexander-Arnold had no such reservations about leaving a scribble on a Real Madrid jersey last summer, while holidaying with Jude Bellingham. Knowing that there was transfer speculation, he still felt comfortable putting his name to a club not called Liverpool FC.
In isolation, this was a non-incident. He made a young fan happy, and Liverpool would need to be pretty thin-skinned to feel disrespected by the harmless gesture.
But taken alongside other clues, this was a sign that Alexander-Arnold was happy to have his name associated with Real Madrid. Would he really have done it if the transfer speculation was baseless?
Perhaps he would have done, but it looks bad in hindsight. With the saga now almost at an end, Liverpool will certainly feel that the signs were there.
