In the past few years, Liverpool has lost two Champions League finals to Real Madrid, has missed out on Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham to the Spanish giant, and moved away from Leny Yoro this summer when the player's preference was Los Blancos (albeit he is now set to join Manchester United ).
The Reds and Carlo Ancelotti's side have been intertwined for a while and there has always been the threat of that continuing when it comes to Trent Alexander-Arnold . The Reds' number 66 has under a year left on his contract at Anfield and the speculation is only going to rise even further the longer it is before a decision on his future is confirmed.
Alexander-Arnold's friendship with Bellingham has been put forward as one reason for the Liverpool man potentially entertaining a switch to Spain. But the reality has always been clear: there will be an appeal to joining one of the best teams of all time, and Liverpool cannot afford to take his loyalty for granted.
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Alexander-Arnold has won everything there is to win with Liverpool. While Steven Gerrard , for instance, was willing to stay and attempt to win a league title with his boyhood club because one there would mean more than winning 10 with another side, Alexander-Arnold has already ticked that off his career to-do list.
Meanwhile, the glitz and the glamor of Real Madrid would be a suitable backdrop for a player of his quality — a nd it seems unlikely that his supposed defensive frailties would be spoken about quite as much in La Liga rather than the passing range and creative flair that he offers. The constant questioning of his game must be draining.
Earlier today, The Independent's Miguel Delaney posted on X/Twitter , saying Alexander-Arnold is "basically thinking about seeing how Liverpool go for a year" — but Real Madrid is "increasingly tempting". While the player doesn't have a year to think about the direction Liverpool is heading in under Arne Slot — by January, as things stand, he could agree a free transfer to Real Madrid — that will no doubt be a worry, at least to those on the outside.
Slot is yet to meet his vice-captain and proper conversations about how he intends to use Alexander-Arnold — face-to-face, at least — are yet to happen as a result. Only when he returns for pre-season can those really take place.
The same can be said, presumably, when it comes to discussions about his future. In one way, it is odd that Alexander-Arnold — like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk — has been allowed to enter the final 12 months of his deal; then again, you could argue that Jurgen Klopp's exit and a changeover behind the scenes has delayed negotiations that might have begun a few months ago.
There is no reason for Liverpool to be panicking yet — but at the same time, nothing should be taken for granted. If Alexander-Arnold pens an extension at Anfield , it will be because he believes that is the best place to be during his peak years, not simply because he is comfortable playing for the club he has always represented and is a local hero.
On that score, nothing has changed. Neither has the fact that Real Madrid will always be a move worth considering. It will be up to Liverpool to prove that it remains the ideal team for a talent like Alexander-Arnold during the talks that will surely soon begin. While the shadow of Real Madrid looms, that has always been true — and nothing, when it comes to that, is new.
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