Los Blancos almost never miss out on their big targets, so it feels increasingly likely that the England right-back will be another big signing
When Trent Alexander-Arnold pinged the ball into the back of the net – via a handsome deflection – during Liverpool's 5-0 win over West Ham on December 30, he ran to the corner flag in celebration, throwing up a gesture that seemed to suggest that he was aware of the talk surrounding a transfer to Real Madrid. It was a moment of a player trying to assert control; Alexander-Arnold knew that reports of him moving to Madrid had ramped up in Spain, and so he provided a reminder to his current fans that he was still one of theirs – for now.
Things move quickly in football, though. Some of the rhetoric around Alexander-Arnold's poor performance in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Manchester United was a little harsh. He has had bad games before – all footballers do – but the timing was inopportune, to say the least. Seven days on from his West Ham goal, and less than a week after it emerged that Madrid had bid around £20 million ($25m) to secure his services this January, Alexander-Arnold's subpar showing rendered any previous celebrations irrelevant. His head, we are led to believe, is gone.
That might not be entirely true – or particularly fair. Alexander-Arnold is a world-class footballer, and a model professional. But there is undoubtedly a difference between his situation and fellow pending free agents at Anfield, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
The Madrid chatter is too loud, the interest too concrete, and thus this saga will only drag on. It already feels inevitable that Alexander-Arnold will be a Madrid player come the summer.
Getty ImagesThe saga
Madrid's interest in the England international first came to light around a year ago. It was reported in both the Spanish and English press that, after Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving Liverpool, certain figures in the dressing room were seriously considering their Reds futures. Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk were all on contracts due to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season, and there was no apparent movement on extensions. With a new sporting director, Richard Hughes, in the process of being hired and a legendary manager to replace, locking down arguably the Reds' three most important players was not a priority.
And so the Madrid rumours kicked off, though most of the reports were lost in the Reds' managerial hunt. Still, the talk lurked there all the same, and it has only gotten louder since then.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMove makes sense
As long as Alexander-Arnold didn't sign a contract, the rumours were always going to continue – and they make a lot of sense. Alexander-Arnold may be a boyhood Liverpool fan and academy graduate, but there is a real finesse to his game that might translate to La Liga. Madrid fans will be watering at the mouth at the prospect of a 60-yard ping from the right-back onto the foot of an advancing Vinicius Jr or Kylian Mbappe. His control on the ball, understanding of space, and ability to orchestrate would be a dream for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
And with Dani Carvajal not getting any younger, Madrid need a plan for the future on the right side of defence. They were only accelerated when Carvajal sustained a serious knee injury two months into the season. The Spain right-back, who finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or after a trophy-laden 2024, might have seen his time at the highest level expire.
Madrid's style when met with such a dilemma is to go and get the best player available. And that's exactly what they are doing once more.
AFPBellingham's role
There was a time when Alexander-Arnold's friendship with Jude Bellingham might have made Liverpool fans dream. The two have built a strong relationship within the England squad, and when Bellinghan's future was shrouded in uncertainty following the 2022-23 campaign, it seemed possible that the allure of playing with his best mate from the national tam could draw the midfielder to Anfield. Of course, that didn't happen, and Madrid worked out a deal, paying around £100m to snag the England star.
And so the opposite courtship started. With every picture shared on social media of the pair sharing a laugh, the rumours grew. Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold attended concerts together, and were pictured in public as the rumour mill gathered further fuel. It seems silly, but this is the reality of the sport, and there is no doubt that – privately or otherwise – there would have been some dialogue about Madrid between the two superstars.
Bellingham, too, is the perfect example of how to get it right in a new country. He has excelled since arriving in Spain and could serve as the perfect model for how Alexander-Arnold might do the same.
Getty Images SportGalactico mindset
Regardless of whether Alexander-Arnold was friends with Bellingham or not, there is no doubt he fits the mould of a Galactico signing for Madrid.
It was Florentino Perez, during his first tenure as Madrid president, who promised that every summer the club would try to sign the best player in the world – regardless of cost. And so began the first iteration of the Galacticos as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham arrived at the Bernabeu. Perez, however, left in 2003, and it is easy to forget that that original side wasn't particularly successful – one league title and one Champions League was a shoddy return for the money invested.
That hasn't put Madrid off, however, and after re-election in 2009, Perez brought the Galactico model back, signing the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, before Mbappe arrived this past summer. Alexander-Arnold, while not an attacker like some of those previous headline-grabbers, would certainly be regarded as a Galactico if he were to follow in their footsteps.
