Trent Alexander-Arnold is starting a new chapter at Real Madrid. The move comes with a number of complicated changes, but the Englishman has “simplified” his name.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is pretty much the opposite of a globetrotter. Born in Liverpool, trained by Liverpool FC in his youth, he made his Premier League debut in December 2016 – for the Reds, of course. At the age of 26, he is now venturing out of his comfort zone and moving abroad. Alexander-Arnold couldn’t resist Real Madrid’s offer.
However, this name will not appear on his jersey, only his first name: Trent. “When I travel through Europe, I notice that the name is complicated. People call me many different things, and here I thought it should be made easier,” said Alexander-Arnold, who also likes to be referred to as “TAA” for short. At least the new number 12 at Real Madrid has cleared that hurdle.
Despite the warm welcome, Florentino Perez made it clear to the newcomer that challenges await and Real expects solutions. “The Club World Cup is our next challenge – and yours too. If you’ve decided to play here, it’s because you’re convinced you can achieve new successes,“ said the Real president, who praised Alexander-Arnold as ”one of the defenders with the most assists in the history of the English league.”
Alexander-Arnold knows he has to adapt quickly. He immediately demonstrated his Spanish skills at his presentation. No one has any serious doubts about his footballing qualities, so Real may have pulled off a real coup.
The right-back position ultimately proved to be the Achilles’ heel after Dani Carvajal’s injury, with veteran Lucas Vazquez too often failing to live up to his potential. In the meantime, Fede Valverde had to help out at right-back, for example in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Arsenal (0-3). The Uruguayan mostly did a decent job, but his absence in midfield was conspicuous.
Anticipation for Mbappé and Vinicius
Alexander-Arnold can hardly wait to get started and will train with his new teammates for the first time on Friday. He is “thrilled” to be playing alongside Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius instead of against them. “I’m sure we’ll build a connection,” he said, adding that he “still has to pinch himself to see if it’s real or just a dream.”
His first memories of Madrid were the presentations of David Beckham and later Cristiano Ronaldo. “It was a completely different presentation to anything we had seen before. At Real Madrid, success is demanded, and that’s exactly what I remember about Madrid.”
Real did not enjoy success last season, with the Royal Whites failing to win any silverware. Alexander-Arnold is now expected to bring about a turnaround. If there is already a new Trent in the squad.
