Alexander-Arnold: "Signing for Real Madrid is a dream come true"

Twelve days after his signing was made official, a well-known secret for months, Trent Alexander-Arnold was presented this Thursday as a new player for Real Madrid. The former Liverpool player, the seventh English footballer to wear the jersey of the fifteen-time European champion after Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Jonathan Woodgate, and Jude Bellingham, arrived at the Valdebebas Sports City to sign the contract that will link him to the 'white house' for the next six seasons. He will wear the number '12' on his shirt, having to leave behind the number '66' that became famous during his career with the 'reds', and he offered his first words as the new right-back for the Whites.

"Signing for a club like Real Madrid doesn't happen every day, it's a dream come true," declared Alexander-Arnold in correct Spanish. He acknowledged the "great responsibility" he assumes but declared himself "ready to give everything" for Real Madrid and expressed his desire to "win many titles, be a champion, grow, and enjoy with the best" in an event where the new Real Madrid defender was accompanied by his parents, Michael and Dianne, his girlfriend, Estelle, and his brothers, Marcel and Tyler, as well as the president of the Chamartín club, Florentino Pérez, and several legends of the entity. "A player who has won everything arrives at Real Madrid," highlighted Florentino Pérez, who described Alexander-Arnold as "an exceptional player" who could have gone "to any club in the world," but chose to play with the Whites to "continue enlarging" his history.

At 26 years old, and with 354 matches under his belt with Liverpool, which helped him become one of the most offensively impactful full-backs in Europe, Alexander-Arnold arrives at Real Madrid to maintain a tough competition on the right flank with captain Dani Carvajal, whose cruciate ligament rupture left the Whites short in a position that will see Lucas Vázquez depart as soon as the Club World Cup ends.

The new global event sponsored by FIFA will represent, starting next week, the initial challenge for Alexander-Arnold in his first adventure away from England, where he emerged as one of the main creators of chances in the Premier League over recent seasons alongside Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, and Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, as well as one of the top assistants in that competition, where he provided 67 assists and scored 18 goals in 259 matches.

Although his contract was due to end on June 30 and he could have arrived on a free transfer, Real Madrid agreed to pay around ten million euros to Liverpool to ensure Alexander-Arnold's presence at the Club World Cup, a tournament in which Real Madrid has pinned its hopes to sweeten a campaign that has so far been very bitter following the Whites' debacles in La Liga and the Champions League, which cost Carlo Ancelotti his coaching position and led to Xabi Alonso's arrival on the bench.

Alexander-Arnold is the second and final reinforcement available to the Basque coach for this event, which will see Real Madrid face Al Hilal, Pachuca, and Salzburg in the group stage, following the central defender Dean Huijsen, who was presented on Tuesday. With Argentine midfielder Franco Mastantuono already secured but whose arrival will be delayed until August 15, a day after the current River Plate player turns 18, the next goal is to finalize the arrival of Álvaro Carreras, a Spanish left-back who will play in the Club World Cup with Benfica, while keeping an eye on potential further signings for the midfield, an area where the Whites are seeking another creative figure to offset Luka Modric's departure, with Martín Zubimendi and Angelo Stiller among Florentino Pérez's possible targets.