Trent Alexander-Arnold: Has He Made a Mistake Leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid?

With his move to the Spanish capital imminent, Trent Alexander-Arnold stood with tears in his eyes as he took in his final moments at Anfield.

A sea of red shirts serenaded Arne Slot’s men as they eagerly waited to lift the 2024–25 Premier League trophy on the final day of the season. For Alexander-Arnold, it would be his second league title and ninth piece of silverware with Liverpool.

The England international built a legacy some could only dream of. From age six, Alexander-Arnold gave his life to Liverpool, helping his boyhood club win everything there is to win in both England and Europe. The fullback, already vice-captain, was likely in line to skipper the side one day.

Instead, less than three weeks after the Reds’ celebrations in Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold was speaking fluent Spanish at his Real Madrid presentation.

Trent Alexander-Arnold inked a six-year contract with Los Blancos. | Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images

The 26-year-old left Liverpool behind to begin a new chapter of his career in Spain, joining his good friend and fellow countryman Jude Bellingham, as well as Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, at the biggest club in the world.

Alexander-Arnold set his sights on a new challenge, one that could potentially propel him into the Ballon d’Or conversation, a goal he once admitted as his biggest dream.

Except his start in a white shirt did not go to plan. Alexander-Arnold underwhelmed in his debut at the FIFA Club World Cup, struggling to keep up defensively like various other times in his career. He then only played four more matches before suffering an injury that kept him out of the semifinals in which PSG thrashed Real Madrid 4–0 at MetLife Stadium.

Fast forward to the start of the 2025–26 season and the 34-cap international once again disappointed, this time in his La Liga debut. Alexander-Arnold played just one accurate cross of his seven attempts, mustered zero tackles and lost all of his duels. He also failed to find his target with any of the four long balls he sent forward.

Xabi Alonso then started Dani Carvajal over his new blockbuster signing in Real Madrid's second match of the season, giving Alexander-Arnold just three minutes off the bench in the 3–0 victory over Real Oviedo.

Suddenly, what were once whispers started gaining traction. Was it a mistake for Alexander-Arnold to leave Liverpool? Is he losing his starting spot to Carvajal? How does he fit in at Real Madrid?

Except those asking the questions failed to realize Alonso also rotated three other players that game, including Vinícius Júnior. No one questioned the Brazilian’s future in white, so why such a heavy focus on Alexander-Arnold?

Perhaps it comes from the success he achieved at Liverpool. The life he built on Merseyside. The love he garnered from the Reds’ supporters. If Alexander-Arnold left that all behind to join and fail at Real Madrid, it would go down as one of the biggest blunders in recent memory.

Yet he got the nod in Los Blancos’ next match against Mallorca and shined brightly. Alexander-Arnold connected with Mbappé for what would have been his first goal contribution in La Liga had the Frenchman not been denied by the offside flag.

Alexander-Arnold also delivered inside his own half, making a game-saving challenge in the 59th minute to preserve Real Madrid’s one-goal lead.

Any mentions of Carvajal displacing Alexander-Arnold on the right flank suddenly went quiet. The veteran 33-year-old is going to see his fair share of game time this season given Los Blancos’ action-packed match calendar, but Real Madrid did not mount a nearly two-year pursuit of Alexander-Arnold and offer him a six-year contract to keep him on the bench.

It goes without saying that Alexander-Arnold needs time to adjust to new teammates, a new manager and a new league. Not everything is or will be perfect in his first handful of matches in a white shirt.

One thing is for certain, though: He is part of the new wave of superstars taking over the Santiago Bernabéu. He is part of Real Madrid’s future. And becoming a cornerstone at the biggest and most successful club in the world is anything but a mistake.