‘Trent Alexander-Arnold hit by new wake-up-call over Liverpool exit to Real Madrid’
Trent Alexander-Arnold should now be under no illusions as to the challenge he will face if he does indeed swap Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer.
It has been a busy few days at Anfield when it comes to contract renewals for key players who had been in the final months of their deals with the club.
Late last week, it was announced that Mo Salah has extended his contract with Arne Slot’s side by a further two years until the summer of 2027.
That has now been followed by Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk confirming his own new deal with the club for another two season.
However, it looks as though the Reds are set to miss out one major extension they would have been targeting this year, with Alexander-Arnold.
Trent Alexander-Arnold destined for Anfield exit
Like Salah and Van Dijk previously had been, Alexander-Arnold is due to be out of contract at Anfield when the current campaign comes to a close.
Unlike the other two though, it appears unlikely that the England international will be signing a new deal with his boyhood club.
Instead there is a growing expectation that Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool to join Real Madrid on a free transfer ahead of the start of the 2025/26 season.
Given the size and prestige of the Spanish giants, it is understandable that the right-back may want to make that move.
He has already won everything he possibly could on Merseyside, and given he is now 26, he would be spending his peak years at a club many consider to be one of if not the biggest in the world.
Yet despite all that, recent events mean Alexander-Arnold may have some concerns about his move from Liverpool to Real Madrid, and maybe even consider following the lead of his two illustrious teammates.
Arsenal humble Real Madrid despite Liverpool dominance in the Premier League
On Wednesday (16 April), Madrid were of course knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter final stages by Arsenal.
It was a distinctly limp exit from Europe’s top club competition by its defending champions, as they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate.
After Arsenal stunned Madrid 3-0 in the first leg at the Emirates last week, Carlo Ancelotti’s side barely laid a glove on the Gunners in the second leg, with even their only goal coming from a defensive error.
What will surely concern Alexander-Arnold about that is how far off Mikel Arteta’s side Madrid looked, given Liverpool themselves appear as though they will comfortably beat Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Arne Slot’s side are 13 points clear of the Gunners in the top-flight standings with six games of the season still to be played, meaning they need just two more wins to secure the title.
Given that gulf between those two, the fact Arsenal have still been able to overcome Madrid so easily, dominating the Spanish giants over 180 minutes, may be a message to Alexander-Arnold about the size of the challenge he faces in the Spanish capital.
| Real Madrid last five games | Result |
| Real Sociedad (H) | Drew 4-4 (AET, won 5-4 on aggregate) |
| Valencia (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Arsenal (A) | Lost 3-0 |
| Alaves (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Arsenal (H) | Lostc 2-1 (lost 5-1 on aggregate) |
Anything can happen in one-off cup games, but no one can deny that win was thoroughly deserved for the Gunners, both in the tie and each of the two legs as individual games.
Of course, the fact Arsenal have been focusing on the Champions League recently has seen them drop points domestically to allow Liverpool to open up a bigger gap than they otherwise might have.
Even so, these two games showed that right now, Madrid look to be way off the level of the side Alexander-Arnold and his current teammates are set to considerably outperform over a whole season.
Effectively, the right-back may now be wondering if that quarter final combined with the Premier League table, indicate he is at risk of stepping down a peg in terms of quality or success if the early exit, by Real’s standards, from the Champions League, coupled with a possible Carlo Ancelotti departure this summer indicate a downturn in fortunes over the short-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu.
That highlights how tough things might be for the right-back when he makes this move, especially given Los Blancos are also four points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga, in another hint that the recent glory for the European champions is no given over the next few years.
Such disappointments mean it would be little surprise to anyone if Ancelotti is not at the Bernabeu next season, which may also see the project change from the one the 26-year-old expected to join.
With that in mind, Alexander-Arnold’s seemingly-inevitable exit from Liverpool this summer may just have become rather more daunting, and just maybe not so inevitable.