There was plenty of anticipation around Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid. Things, though, have not gone to plan. Sixteen months after his arrival in the Spanish capital, it is becoming increasingly clear that the former Liverpool right-back’s move to Los Blancos, one of the most talked-about deals of the summer of 2025, not least because it came on a free transfer, has fallen short of expectations. This season, Denzel Dumfries has been José Mourinho’s first choice at right-back. When the Dutchman was injured, Mourinho opted to adapt Valverde to the role instead.
Unless the manager has a last-minute change of heart, or another injury opens up a place, Alexander-Arnold looks set to miss Sunday’s Clásico against Barcelona at Camp Nou. He also watched Real’s most recent Champions League match against Leipzig from the bench until the final whistle. Across their last five matches, he has made just one appearance, against Villarreal, and even that ended in the 52nd minute, when Mourinho moved Valverde to right-back. Last season offered little more encouragement: Alexander-Arnold made 30 appearances, starting 22 of them.
It was hardly what he had in mind when, in the summer of 2025, he made the brave and controversial decision to turn down Liverpool’s offers of a new contract and leave the club from his home city for Real Madrid on a free transfer. Being third choice at right-back cannot be easy to accept for a player who, during his best years at Anfield, spoke confidently about redefining the position. He had even imagined becoming the first right-back in history to win the Ballon d’Or. “I want to leave a legacy as the greatest right-back ever to play football,” he told Sky Sports in October 2024. “I have to aim for the stars, because that’s where I believe my potential lies.”
Alexander-Arnold’s ambition and international profile were among the qualities that persuaded Madrid to sign him. From the outset, the move appeared to have the backing of the club’s president, in keeping with Florentino Pérez’s strategy of exploiting favourable contract situations to sign established players in their prime, either on free transfers or on advantageous terms. Toni Kroos, Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rüdiger and Kylian Mbappé had all arrived under similar circumstances. Ibrahima Konaté followed last summer.
Alexander-Arnold made an immediate impression at his first public appearance in a Madrid shirt at the Santiago Bernabéu. He spoke excellent Spanish and, in front of an enthusiastic crowd, declared that “signing for a club like Real Madrid is a dream come true”. Since then, that dream has remained largely unrealised. There are mitigating circumstances. Alexander-Arnold has not been the only Madrid player to endure a difficult spell in a season marked by turmoil on and off the pitch. Injuries have played their part, too. Three separate muscle problems during his first season made it difficult to find consistency, build up minutes and develop an understanding with his new teammates.
The changes in the dugout have hardly helped. Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa failed to bring order to the team and dressing room last season, while Mourinho is still searching for the best way to get the most out of the talent at his disposal. A clear indication of his intentions came at the start of the summer 2026 transfer window, when Madrid signed Dumfries from Inter for €25 million. In five of the club’s first six competitive matches of the season, Mourinho chose the Dutchman.
In September, against Inter in the opening round of the Champions League league phase, Mourinho even tried Alexander-Arnold in midfield, with much of the available cover ruled out through injury or suspension. The experiment did not work. Madrid won, but Alexander-Arnold had a disappointing game before being substituted in the second half. In recent matches, Mourinho has preferred to move Valverde into defence rather than bring the former Liverpool player into the side.
The English and Spanish press have already begun speculating about Alexander-Arnold’s future. His contract runs until June 2031, however, and his substantial salary makes a move in the near future difficult to imagine. For a player who turned 28 just days ago, being third choice in his own position is hardly ideal, even at Real Madrid. All the more so when his arrival had been presented, by Alexander-Arnold himself, as a signing that could change the course of his career. For now, the promise of that move remains unfulfilled.