Stunning Liverpool own goal in Alexander-Arnold negotiations revealed

Steve Pearson 05 May 2025 1:07 PM

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool missed a golden opportunity to tie Alexander-Arnold down to a new contract

Trent Alexander-Arnold was willing to sign a contract extension at Anfield, with a trusted reporter detailing the crippling misstep Liverpool made.

Alexander-Arnold is heading to Real Madrid, with the right-back confirming on Monday morning that he’s leaving his boyhood club. Fabrizio Romano gave a switch to the Bernabeu his signature “here we go” confirmation, while Paul Joyce and David Ornstein have both pointed towards the Spanish capital.

When providing greater context on the move, The Times’ Paul Joyce – widely regarded as the No 1 journalist on all matters Liverpool – revealed why the right-back is leaving.

Joyce claimed Alexander-Arnold was seeking the one thing Liverpool cannot offer – a fresh challenge in football.

However, the reporter also claimed there was a time when Alexander-Arnold would have gladly put pen to paper on an extension. Unfortunately for Liverpool, the club failed to strike when the iron was hot and the end result is they’ll now lose a highly saleable asset for nothing.

Joyce wrote: ‘The safe option [for Alexander-Arnold] would have been to sign another deal at Liverpool (although an unmotivated player on a long deal would have become a problem), and there was a time when Alexander-Arnold did not envisage anything else.

‘The 2022-23 campaign had proved a difficult one for him although, by the end of it, he felt revitalised by the hybrid role Klopp had asked him to perform when shifting from right back into midfield and conducting the play.

‘All of Liverpool’s previous contract dealings with Alexander-Arnold indicated they would have come to the negotiating table that summer when he had two years left and the background noise about Real Madrid’s interest was already audible.

‘Perhaps they wanted to see whether his form could be maintained but, initially at least, there was not the same intent from the club.

‘A delay can also be explained by the fact it coincided with a period of unprecedented flux behind the scenes.

‘Julian Ward stood down just a year after succeeding Michael Edwards as sporting director, the president of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Mike Gordon, had retreated into the background, and soon into the new campaign Klopp doubted whether he had the appetite to continue. Klopp privately informed Gordon in November 2023 he would be leaving at the end of that season, and appointing a new hierarchy became the priority.

The appointment of Richard Hughes as sporting director accelerated discussions. Prior to officially starting in the role, his very first call was to Alexander-Arnold’s representatives in April 2024 and a formal offer was presented that month after Slot’s appointment.

‘Hughes inherited what one colleague described as a “s!@* sandwich”, but is understood to have handled the situation impressively. There has been no animosity at the prospect of a valuable asset leaving for nothing.

‘If the argument can be made that Liverpool were slow to talk terms then, equally, there has been a sense in recent months that whatever was presented would not have been enough to entice the player to stay.’

Liverpool gain final measure of revenge?

Real Madrid had originally hoped to bring Alexander-Arnold on board in time to feature in the Club World Cup.

The revamped and expanded tournament gets underway on June 14 and the entirety of Real’s group phase campaign takes place in June.

That posed a problem for Los Blancos given Alexander-Arnold’s contract doesn’t expire until June 30.

There has been talk of Real Madrid being willing to pay a small transfer fee, believed to be around one million euros, to secure an early release.

However, David Ornstein claimed Alexander-Arnold’s contract is set to be valid from July, meaning he would not be signed and registered in time to feature in the group stage.