Trent Alexander-Arnold: A Heart as Big as Liverpool and Appetite as Insatiable as Madrid
This week it was confirmed that Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season when his contract expires, with Real Madrid almost certain to be his new club next season.
His impending departure has caused a major divide in the fanbase since the rumours of him refusing to sign a new contract and sign for Real Madrid became too loud to ignore at the turn of the year. From those wishing him well in the next chapter of his career after winning everything possible with his boyhood club, to those accusing him of betraying the fans and staff of Liverpool FC who have invested so much effort and dedication into helping him become the player he is.
Trent is following a well-trodden path of homegrown Liverpool talents who left their boyhood club for the wealth and glamour of Real, namely Steve McManaman and Michael Owen, with varying degrees of success. Whilst McManaman went on to win the Champions League twice, scoring in the 2000 final against Valencia, Owen was a relative flop playing second fiddle to the Real Galacticos such as Ronaldo, Figo and Zidane.
So will Trent enjoy a similar, or even greater, level of success to McManaman, or will the move to Spain be as bad a choice for his career and Liverpool legacy as it was for Owen? All three broke into the first team as teenagers and became perennial starters no matter who was brought in to give them competition, and played a big part in major trophies won by the club.
McManaman starred in the 1992 FA Cup final against Sunderland, and the 1995 League Cup final against Bolton in which he scored both goals. His only other cup final appearance for Liverpool was in the 1996 FA Cup, when as one of Liverpool's "Spice Boys" he suffered a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
Owen struck twice against Arsenal to win the 2001 FA Cup, the same year in which Liverpool also won the League Cup and UEFA Cup. He also scored when Liverpool defeated Manchester United to win the 2003 League Cup, which was his last trophy with the club.
Trent has surpassed both, in terms of trophies if not individual performances, by playing in three Champions League finals (winning once versus Tottenham Hotspur in 2019), one FA Cup and three League Cup Finals, as well as winning the Premier League in 2019/20 and 2024/25.
McManaman, like Trent, did not sign a new contract before his was due to expire at the end of the 1998/99 season, and agreed to join Real Madrid on a Bosman free transfer for the 1999/2000 season. The loss of McManaman, however, did not have a major impact on Liverpool's performances on the pitch (mainly due to the emergence of another local talent, Steven Gerrard). Whilst Gerard Houllier attempted to bring in a direct replacement in Vladimir Smicer, McManaman's role as creator and goalscorer was shared between Gerrard and Danny Murphy primarily.
Whilst Owen did not leave on a free transfer (instead it was a nominal transfer fee plus right winger Antonio Nunez), Liverpool had already signed a replacement in Djibril Cisse as well as already having the top scorer from the 2004 European Championships, Milan Baros. Neither of them managed to replicate Owen's goal tally (Cisse suffered a horrifying double-fractured leg which ruled him out for most of the season), but Liverpool still managed to reach the finals of the League Cup and Champions League.
So while Liverpool did not successfully replace either McManaman or Owen after they left for Real Madrid, the team adapted their shape and tactics to accommodate different styles of forward. As there are very few full-backs in world football (if any) with the passing range and vision of Trent, it is going to be impossible to replace him, so we must hope that Slot will tweak his Liverpool side in the same way as Houllier and Benitez did when McManaman and Owen left.
The other question is how Liverpool fans will remember Trent after his Spanish adventure has concluded. After several successful seasons with Real, McManaman returned to the Premier League to play for Manchester City, but has never received the hatred and vitriol experienced by Owen. This is most likely due to the fact that Owen signed for Manchester United after first joining Newcastle United when he returned from Spain. The only thing worse than leaving Liverpool on a free transfer is signing for your deadly rivals.
Right now is too early to judge, as emotions are still high and Trent still has a few weeks left at Liverpool (unless Real pay to enable him to join them at the World Club Championship), but we can still speculate whether Trent will make more of a success of this move than McManaman, less than Owen or somewhere in between.
When he joined Real in 1999, McManaman had only really played in one big tournament, the 1996 European Championships and been a squad member at the 1998 World Cup. Owen had played a big part for England in two World Cups and two European Championships before he joined Real, so theoretically he should have adapted better to playing for a top European side.
However, perhaps due to his recurring hamstring injuries which limited his pace and nullified much of his attacking threat, Owen struggled to make an impact in Madrid in a team full of superstars at their peak. Trent recently suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for a few matches in Liverpool's title run-in, but it is doubtful that it will have as serious an impact on his future career.
The crucial factor will be how Trent adapts to Real's playing style, learning a new language in a foreign country and dealing with the high expectations of the Madrid fans. Whilst Trent has an England colleague in Bellingham already at the club (as did Owen in 2004 with Beckham), becoming comfortable at a new club in a new city so that you are able to play to your full potential is a subjective matter.
Ultimately, I wish him all the best as, despite the tribal nature of football and fans' unrealistic expectation that every homegrown player should stay loyal to their boyhood club, being a footballer is a career and you are free to ply your trade wherever you wish.
The irrational need to hold footballers to a higher standard of fidelity is exposed by asking the question: "would you blame one of your mates if he went to work in a foreign country, leaving the city where he was born and company he'd worked for all his life, if he was offered more money?" Most of us would wish them well, and would make the same decision if it was us in their shoes. Football should be no different.
I don't doubt Trent's love for the City of Liverpool and Liverpool Football Club, but I can also see his desire to test himself by moving to a new league, not just for money, but to cement his status as a world-class footballer. That is the only way to become a legend.


















