Trent Alexander-Arnold has a big decision to make. He may have already made it and is simply waiting to tell the world where he will be playing next season, but as he ripped off his Liverpool shirt in celebration after scoring the winning goal against Leicester on Sunday, any thoughts of wearing the white of Real Madrid seemed a million miles away.
After seeing Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk pledge their future to Liverpool and then scoring a goal that moved Liverpool to within three points of the Premier League title, maybe the appeal of leaving Anfield for Real Madrid is suddenly not quite as strong as it was just a month ago.
Sources have told ESPN that Real are increasingly confident of signing the England defender this summer, with the 26-year-old seemingly destined for the Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent once his Liverpool contract expires at the end of June. Talks with Liverpool over a new deal have not resulted in an agreement between both parties, but if Alexander-Arnold makes the move to Madrid, would he be jumping off a train heading for more success in favor of one that is moving in a different direction?
Liverpool are a club on the up, with a 20th English title in their sights and their two most high-profile players ending uncertainty over their future by committing themselves to Arne Slot’s team for the next two years at least. As Premier League champions, they will add to their squad this summer from a position of strength and be formidable contenders for honors at home and in Europe next season.
Real Madrid? The 15-time Champions League winners will always be a force to be reckoned with by virtue of their history and talent, but their quarterfinal elimination against Arsenal last week exposed shortcomings in their squad, while Barcelona are in pole position to end Real’s domestic dominance in LaLiga this season. (Hansi Flick’s side have a four-point lead with six games remaining, and a pivotal Clasico still to come on May 11.)
With Carlo Ancelotti’s future as coach under threat because of the unacceptably early Champions League exit — this is Real, who only regard success as winning — and the prospect of the team heading in a different direction under a new man next season, it is debatable as to whether Real or Liverpool is the best place to be for an ambitious footballer who measures success by winners’ medals. (Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is the front-runner to replace Ancelotti, but things have been quiet on that front in recent weeks.)
Alexander-Arnold has won everything he can win in England with Liverpool at least once, and his admission earlier this season that he wants to become the first full back to win the Ballon d’Or hinted at his mind’s eye already visualizing himself in a Real shirt, playing for a club that has enjoyed twelve Ballon d’Or wins — a record shared with Barcelona. But recent weeks have suggested that Real is no longer the No. 1 destination for the world’s best players and if Alexander-Arnold is still to make a final decision, he might be advised to think about how the years ahead might look.
Barcelona are favorites to win LaLiga and the emergence of 17-year-old forward Lamine Yamal has given Flick’s team the sprinkling of stardust they have not enjoyed since Lionel Messi left Camp Nou for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Their squad of exciting youngsters, with the help of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, could also take Real’s crown as European champions this season if they overcome Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals before beating either Arsenal or PSG in the final.
Although Real dismantled Manchester City in the Champions League Round of 16, their 5-1 aggregate defeat against Arsenal, when they lost both legs, exposed the weaknesses in the squad that Alexander-Arnold alone will not be able to solve.
How will Real replace defenders Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba, both 32, or the 39-year-old Luka Modric in midfield? They have still not addressed the loss of Toni Kroos following his retirement last summer, and even if Real beat Arsenal to the signing of Real Sociedad midfielder MartÃn Zubimendi, it will not be the solution to their problems.
Will a new coach work out Jude Bellingham’s best position, or decide that he is a square peg that doesn’t fit the round holes? Will Kylian Mbappé and VinÃcius Júnior jell on a permanent basis up front rather than continue to endure the peaks and troughs that they have experienced together this season?
Barcelona don’t have the same number of dilemmas to solve in Spain, while Liverpool coach Arne Slot has even fewer to address. So if Alexander-Arnold decides that the time has come to leave Liverpool for Madrid, he will be taking a risk that didn’t seem quite so great just one or two months ago.
David Beckham and Michael Owen, the biggest stars in English football at the peak of their careers, were both drawn by the lure of Real Madrid, with Beckham leaving Manchester United for the Bernabeu in 2003 and Liverpool forward Owen following him to the club a year later, but both saw their trophies decline from previous levels in Madrid. Beckham won just one LaLiga title and a Supercopa de Espana in four years with Real, while Owen’s solitary season with Los Blancos ended with him winning nothing. United continued to win without Beckham and Liverpool won the Champions League a year after Owen’s departure; so Alexander-Arnold would do well to consider their experience in Madrid.
Real are the biggest club in the world and are football’s version of Hollywood, but right now, Liverpool might just be a better bet for a player who wants to win the biggest trophies.
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