Gary Neville has suggested Jude Bellingham may have influenced Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘s decision to join Real Madrid.
The Liverpool defender is expected to sign a contract with the European champions this summer when his current deal at Liverpool expires, which has prompted a largely furious reaction from supporters.
That is partly due to Alexander-Arnold being from the local area and given he supported Liverpool as a child. It’s something the likes of Neville and Jamie Carragher, who both represented one team during their careers, may feel difficult to relate to. However, Neville can see some similarities with the situation of his close friend David Beckham, who moved from Manchester United to Real in 2003.
“I think it’s right that Liverpool fans can feel down about leaving. As a fan and a local kid, fans have a right to feel that way,” Neville expressed in the latest episode of Stick to Football. “But also, thinking about it with my David Beckham hat on, thinking about the career he had when he went to Madrid and then [AC] Milan and he’s had the experiences he went on to have since. He wouldn’t have had that if he would have stayed at United.
“A part of me thinks since I finished playing football, I feel different about it. That experience of going to Madrid and having played there was incredible for him.”
Neville and Beckham’s former United team-mate, Roy Keane responded: “There’s a balancing act for a player at a big club. Do you stay? Is the grass always greener? But these are amazing experiences for a player and you’re going to Real Madrid; he’ll be competing, living in an amazing city and getting well paid.”
Neville then interjected: “Has Jude Bellingham had an impact on that?”
(Image: 2024 Inaki Esnaola)
“He’s probably chatted to him, of course,” said Keane. “The biggest compliment you can give to Trent is that he’s going to Real Madrid and not one of is amazed. We’re thinking “yeah, he can go there and hold his own at Madrid”. There are parts of his game that he has to improve on but you could say that for every player.”
Neville agrees Alexander-Arnold has the quality to represent Real and added he would “Love to watch him play”. But he feels the 26-year-old’s defensive deficiencies could come back to haunt him.
“I’ve said that he needs to get more serious about his defending and I’ve said that constantly or it will cause him a problem,” he added. “I think it could cause him a problem at Real Madrid because [Federico] Valverde who is currently playing right-back, and [Dani] Carvajal when he’s back, will cause him some serious competition.
“He’s going to find it tough there and, to be honest with you, I think Carvajal from a balance of going forward and back… I think overall Carvajal is an all-round better full-back than Trent because of what he gives to the team. I think he’s unbelievable and Valverde, what he’s doing at the moment, is unbelievable.
“I’ve said he needs to get more serious about his defending and that was proved by the fact he couldn’t get in the England team for many years. He gets subbed for Liverpool a lot. I’ve never known a right-back get subbed so many times in important periods of matches at the end. He has got his challenges.”
