Real Madrid target Trent Alexander-Arnold announced his decision to leave Liverpool on Monday morning, with the England international expected to sign with Los Blancos this summer. Alexander-Arnold has also given an interview in an attempt to explain his decision to Liverpool fans, acknowledging some of them were angry with him.
Alexander-Arnold wanted new challenge
The 26-year-old came through the academy at Liverpool, and became a first-team player as a teenager, but having won the Premier League twice and the Champions League, decided it was time to move on.
“I think first and foremost, I want to say it’s not an easy decision and there’s a lot of thought and feeling that has gone into it. I’ve been here 20 years now, loved every single minute of it, achieved all my dreams, achieved everything I’ve ever wanted to here. Giving everything day in, day out for 20 years, I’ve got to a point now where I feel like I need a change, a new challenge for me as a player and as a person. And I think now is the right time for me to do that,” he told Liverpool, as quoted by EOTK.
The timing was another issue that has become the subject of debate. Real Madrid have been courting him for some time, but Alexander-Arnold has avoided questions on his future.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of noise around what the decision was going to be and how that was going to look. I know a lot of people will say I should have said sooner, a lot of people will say maybe I waited for the right time. But I felt personally the focus should always be on the pitch, should always be about the football. When we were in a title race and trying to push for trophies, it’s about making the right decision for the team and trying not to distract the team and take away from what we’re doing on the pitch.”
“For me, it was always to do it after the season was kind of done; not so much the final game but when there was nothing else really to play for. Now that we’ve won the league and we’ve been able to celebrate it and celebrate such an amazing achievement, I felt like now is the right time to get it off my chest and tell the fans the truth, and now is that time.”
Alexander-Arnold did consider new Liverpool contract
He was asked if signing a new deal on the Kop was a possibility, and Alexander-Arnold claims he did consider it, despite being pursued by Real Madrid since last March.
“One hundred per cent, a massive possibility. I’ve got full confidence in the manager and the staff and the club going forward. It’s not about me thinking we’re not going to fight for titles or fight for trophies season in, season out because I knew from the first few moments with the manager that he was a winner, he was aiming to go and win things. And you’ve seen that this season with the way that we’ve played.”
“So it was never about not having confidence in that, it just boiled down to what I felt I needed, and that is a change. That’s something I need to do on my personal journey as a person, but also as a player and a professional, to go and challenge myself elsewhere. I feel like a challenge in a different environment is something I need to do as a player.”
When will Alexander-Arnold arrive at Real Madrid?
The question remaining for Real Madrid is when Alexander-Arnold will arrive. Los Blancos could do with him for the Club World Cup in June, but his contract does not expire until the end of the month. An agreement with Real Madrid is done in terms of his contract, but Liverpool are demanding a fee to allow him to leave a month earlier.
