How Liverpool move on from Alexander-Arnold, as Real Madrid move nears

LIVERPOOL, England — As Trent Alexander-Arnold held his arms aloft and soaked up the ovation from the Anfield crowd after his Liverpool side had clinched the Premier League title with a 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, a jubilant Kop crowed: “He’s Alexander-Arnold, the Scouser in our team.”

It has been a familiar refrain on Merseyside since the 26-year-old right back made his first-team debut in 2016, underscoring his rise from academy graduate to Premier League star. But now that Alexander-Arnold has announced he will leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season, the song may well have had its final airing at Anfield.

“Giving everything day in, day out for 20 years, I’ve got to a point now where I feel like I need a new change, a new challenge for me as a player and as a person,” Alexander-Arnold revealed in a social media post on Monday. “And I think now is the right time for me to do that.”

While a deal has not yet been finalized, that new challenge will surely take Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, with sources having told ESPN in March that senior figures at the Bernabéu were “very optimistic” of signing the England international on a free transfer.

The timing of those reports from the Spanish capital aligned with a breakdown in contract talks at Anfield, with sources telling ESPN that — after months of negotiations with sporting director Richard Hughes — Alexander-Arnold rejected new terms that would have made him one of the best-paid fullbacks in the world.

Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave was not fueled by financial incentives, but by a desire to try something new. Considering the defender joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of 6 and has won everything there is to win at Anfield — two Premier League titles (2020 and 2025), a single FA Cup, EFL Cup and Community Shield (all 2022), and one UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup (all 2019) — there is logic behind his longing for a change of scenery.

However, football is a game of emotions and in some quarters of the Reds’ fan base that logic will never tally with the image Alexander-Arnold has cultivated for himself as a homegrown hero. For some of a Liverpool persuasion, his decision to depart will sully a legacy that, for much of the past decade, had looked set to match or even eclipse that of fellow academy graduate Steven Gerrard. Now, it is more likely comparisons will be drawn to Michael Owen and Steve McManaman — both of whom garnered criticism from Liverpool supporters for swapping Merseyside for Madrid during their playing careers.

Of course, the disappointment that has greeted Alexander-Arnold’s announcement in Liverpool is only so great because of how highly he has been regarded in his home city. Since making his first-team debut nine years ago, the defender has redefined what it means to be a right back at the elite level, making more than 350 appearances for the club and winning eight major honors. He has had a huge hand in an array of famous triumphs, with his ingenious corner routine against Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals back in 2019 forever enshrined in Liverpool folklore.

After the Reds went on to lift the trophy that same year, Alexander-Arnold was afforded with a mural on Sybil Street, just a stone’s throw away from Anfield. The elaborate artwork depicts the defender alongside the words: “I’m just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true.”

For Alexander-Arnold, a new dream now awaits. For Liverpool, too, a new era must begin. The club’s hierarchy havs known for several weeks — and likely suspected for even longer — that it must plan for a future without its star right back.

Sources have told ESPN that Liverpool remain confident they have the necessary infrastructure to attract and retain the world’s best talent, as evidenced by the fact that veteran superstars Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk recently signed new contracts. However, replacing a player of Alexander-Arnold’s pedigree is an ominous challenge.

He has provided 64 Premier League assists during his time at Liverpool — more than any defender in the competition’s history — and was often the team’s creative fulcrum under previous boss Jurgen Klopp, who often moved him up into central midfield. Now it might be that new head coach Arne Slot chooses to replace that ingenuity by adding to his midfield ranks rather than seeking a like-for-like replacement at right back.

In Northern Ireland international Conor Bradley, Liverpool certainly seem to have a ready-made successor for Alexander-Arnold in that position. The 21-year-old has impressed since breaking into the first team last season and deputized brilliantly for the injured Alexander-Arnold by keeping Kylian Mbappé & Co. quiet in a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in November.

But, with Bradley having made only 27 top-flight appearances so far, it would be wise for Liverpool to dip into the market for a player who could both compete with and complement the youngster.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong has been mooted as a potential option, though he is more accustomed to playing as a wing back under Xabi Alonso, while Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries and Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina have also been linked.

While the transfer rumor mill will no doubt go into overdrive in the coming weeks and months, Liverpool’s focus now will be on ending what has been a triumphant first season under Slot on a high. The images of Alexander-Arnold basking in the euphoria of his team’s latest title win last weekend prompted Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury to ask the question that many Liverpool supporters have been pondering for some time: “How could Trent consider walking away from this?”

Although Alexander-Arnold’s announcement may not have provided a definitive answer over why he chose to do so, it has at least brought all parties some clarity. It is not the fairy-tale ending that many fans will have hoped for but, for both the player and for Liverpool, it could be the start of an exciting new chapter.