Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been “confirmed” as joining Real Madrid this summer.
Alexander-Arnold, ranked at no.43 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest Premier League players of all time, has been involved in a drawn-out transfer saga this season with his contract expiring this summer. The England man is one of three Liverpool stars free to leave Anfield in June, along with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
While the latter two are still up in the air, however, it appears as if Alexander-Arnold is a done deal.
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold will earn €15 million a year at Real Madrid
Despite the rumours of a move to Real Madrid intensifying over the winter, Alexander-Arnold has held back from discussing his future, instead preferring to do his talking on the pitch.
With Liverpool heading towards a 20th title, the defender has been a key man for new manager Arne Slot and is ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best right-backs in the world right now.
Writing for Sky Sports Switzerland, however, transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri says that “it's confirmed” that Alexander-Arnold have reached personal terms with Los Blancos over a move.
According to Tavolieri's sources, the Liverpool academy graduate will earn €15 million a year at the Bernabeu, an increase of €4m on his current deal.
That works out to be around £250,000 a week. Journalist Graeme Bailey previously reported that Liverpool offered Alexander-Arnold a deal worth more than £400,000-per-week, which would make him not only the highest-ever paid Liverpool player, but also the best-paid player in the Premier League, too.
FourFourTwo understands that money is not a motivation in the switch to Real Madrid, however, with the 26-year-old openly discussing his ambition to become the first right-back to win the Ballon d'Or.
“It's only the morning after you retire that you're able to look in the mirror and say, ‘I gave it everything I got,’ Alexander-Arnold, told Sky Sports last year. “It doesn't matter how many trophies you win, or how many medals you've got.
“It matters what you give to the game and if you reach your full potential.”
Alexander-Arnold is worth €75m, according to Transfermarkt.
FourFourTwo's Matthew Ketchell: I interviewed Trent Alexander-Arnold last year and he may have inadvertently revealed that his future lies away from Liverpool
The first time I interviewed Trent Alexander-Arnold, he was enjoying his breakthrough season as a Premier League footballer.
Back then I asked teenage Trent where he thought he might be in five years time. Without flinching he said: “Still at Liverpool being an important figure in a team that's brought a lot of silverware to the club.” A totally acceptable, stock answer from a young footballer playing out his dreams for his boyhood club.
Five and a half years later I am interviewing him for the cover of FourFourTwo magazine. I reminded Alexander-Arnold of the question and his 2018 comments and took the opportunity to repeat the question, bracing for an off-the-shelf response, albeit a level or two up from his 2018 answer.
“Ah, what do I even say,” he grasped, before more silence. Eventually, he offered a quote for the record. “I think big individual honours, being for me at some point the best player in the world, being someone who… Yeah, I would say, captain, playing the part in winning trophies for England.
“I think cementing a… [ten-second pause] legendary [ten-second pause] status within football, whether or not it's recognised in five years or not, I think what I do between now and five years will be, potentially in 15, 20 years time… I’ll look back and I think these five years will cement a legendary status in football [for me].”
It was only after digesting the quotes and writing the feature that it occurred to me there was a big Liverpool-shaped hole in the comments. At that point, Alexander-Arnold really felt like a one-club man, so no mention of his boyhood club jarred. Why not mention them?
Omitting Liverpool from his answer felt deliberate. Reading between the lines, it gave a sense to me that Alexander-Arnold has desires to test himself abroad.
