Trent Alexander-Arnold looks as though he’ll soon be starting his farewell tour for Liverpool – although in truth, it probably started much earlier in the season.
With just nine games remaining before his contract expires, it seems as though the writing is on the wall. The sheer amount of outlets reporting during the week that terms had been agreed with Real Madrid, or that the Spanish giant was looking to finalize a deal, simply couldn’t be ignored, even if the man himself isn’t ready to go public with the decision.
Alexander-Arnold though is surely heading to the Bernabeu now, and sadly it won’t come as a surprise to any Liverpool fans. There have been more than a few hints that the saga was going to end this way, even before Real chanced its arm with a bid on New Year’s Eve.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest hint might have arrived when Los Blancos came to town back in November. That was of course the night when Liverpool’s other right-back stole the headlines, with Conor Bradley’s tackle on Kylian Mbappe setting the tone for a great European night at Anfield.
Nevertheless, there was always a subplot to the evening, even with Alexander-Arnold not moving from the bench. Having quickly made his way down the tunnel, it seemed as though the night would pass by without the fires being stoked.
Cue Jude Bellingham. Having been kept quiet on the pitch, the midfielder made sure he made his impact off it.
With the players heading back inside, cameras in the tunnel caught Bellingham lurking outside the doors to the hosts’ dressing room. Eventually, he caught Ryan Gravenberch’s attention, with the Liverpool midfielder making his way in after a short chat.
Moments later, out came Gravenberch again, holding a shirt with the unmistakable number 66 on the back. The exchange was done, and Bellingham made his way to reconvene with his teammates, possibly to show off the prize he’d just picked up in spite of a bad night for the defending champions.
Back then, with Alexander-Arnold’s future still looking up in the air, it could have been passed off as just two good friends swapping shirts and nothing more. The way in which it was conducted though felt a whole lot more symbolic than that.
Bellingham could have picked anyone to swap shirts with that night. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah both played of course, and the chance to grab one of their shirts in what could be their final season at Liverpool would surely have been tempting.
But instead, he went for a player whose shirt hadn’t even been touched with a bead of sweat during the game. Yes, they are good friends, but you can’t tell me that wasn’t a calculated maneuver from Bellingham.
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After all, they’ve had plenty of opportunities to swap shirts whenever they feel like it. They practically spent the whole of last summer together, whether it was at Euro 2024 or on holiday together in the US, so it’s not like this was a rare meeting between the two.
The fact Alexander-Arnold didn’t come out of the dressing room to do the swap in person spoke volumes as well. He likely knew what it would do to the speculation surrounding his future, and decided to avoid as much attention as he could – like he has done all season.
There’s no hiding what that moment signified now though. Soon enough, Bellingham will be sharing a dressing room with Alexander-Arnold rather than waiting outside like a bodyguard ready to march him out of Anfield.
