David Beckham and Michael Owen have both previously sent their best wishes to Trent Alexander-Arnold, with the news now confirmed that he will be departing Liverpool come the summer.
The gifted right-back, a product of the Anfield side’s academy, has etched his name into club folklore, securing a host of silverware during his tenure with the first team. Since breaking into the starting line-up under Jurgen Klopp in 2016, Alexander-Arnold has racked up 352 appearances for the Reds, netted 23 goals, and celebrated eight major trophies.
Questions about the Premier League champion’s future at Liverpool have loomed all season, mainly because Alexander-Arnold’s contract is set to expire in the summer. That was also the case with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah until recently.
While Van Dijk and Salah have penned new contracts to stay under Arne Slot’s guidance until 2027, Alexander-Arnold has decided to pursue a “new challenge” elsewhere. The 26-year-old has been persistently linked with a switch to Real Madrid throughout the season.
Two icons of the Premier League who themselves transferred from England to Spain have previously weighed in with their opinions. And Manchester United great Beckham once likened the young Alexander-Arnold’s playing style to his own.
During his appearance on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Beckham — who made a high-profile switch from United to Madrid in 2003 — lauded the right-back’s abilities and drew parallels with his own skills in delivery and passing.
“I suppose if there was one player where I look at and I think, ‘he’s very similar in the way he delivers the ball, he’s very similar in the way he crosses the ball or passes’, it has to be Trent,” he remarked in October last year.
(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“In all honesty, I think he’s an unbelievable [player] — his vision, he’s unbelievable. And he’s an exceptional player, but when I look at a player and I think I see myself in the way he puts the ball in, what he sees in the long balls that he plays, you know he plays balls that some players don’t even think about and that’s what I love about him as a player.”
Another Liverpool legend who took the journey to Madrid is Owen, who clinched the prestigious Ballon d’Or during his spellbinding tenure at Anfield. The prolific forward, who notched up 216 appearances and 118 goals for Liverpool, shared his perspective on a hypothetical transfer from England to Spain for Alexander-Arnold, suggesting it would be a wise move provided it was based on the player’s own merits.
In conversation with the Liverpool ECHO in December 2024, Owen reflected on his own transfers and emphasised that the right-back must stand firm in his decision. It’s something he’ll have to live with “forever”, he said.
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The former Liverpool player remarked: “There’s no good or bad decision really. The only good or bad decision is the after time, in 10 years. That’s the only reason you’ll ever say it is a good or bad decision. Whereas when you live it, it’s that way. I decided that at the time and I can’t change it.
“From Trent’s point of view, he’ll make his decision based on all the facts in front of him, and that will be the right thing for him at this time. That’s what he’ll have to live with forever, and I’m sure he’ll be comfortable with that. If other people have this opinion in the future, as I say, these after-timers, then, whatever. Just whatever. It doesn’t matter.”
Liverpool.com says: Alexander-Arnold leaving has long been on the cards, so Liverpool has had enough time to think about how to replace him. That is the big question now: does Conor Bradley step up, or does someone else come in to help him out?
