BREAKING: Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Liverpool this summer as Reds star announces exit

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has confirmed he is leaving the club this summer. The Reds right-back .

Alexander-Arnold, 26, will depart having won two titles, a , , two League Cups, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. The club vice-captain has held talks with the Merseysiders to try to agree a new contract but he has decided to take on a new challenge.

Alexander-Arnold joined ’s academy at the age of just six having grown up nearby the club’s old Melwood training ground. He would often watch training by standing on bins to peek over the walls bordering the training ground where the likes of and would be put through their paces.

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Alexander-Arnold impressed Liverpool staff from a young age and was initially earmarked for a midfield role in the first team. But as he got closer to the first team, he started to feature at right-back and in October 2016 he was handed his senior debut by against Hotspur.

Alexander-Arnold became the youngest player to start consecutive Champions League finals when the Reds beat Tottenham to win the European Cup in 2019, having also started the defeat by a year earlier.

He would become a creative force in Klopp’s team and racked up 13 assists in the Premier League in the 2019-20 campaign as they ended a 30-year wait for a league title. It remains a record for a defender. In two other seasons he has contributed 12 assists in the league alone.

In the 2021-22 season when the Reds reached another European Cup final and won the two domestic cups in England, he notched 18 assists in all competitions. He was made vice captain by Klopp in the summer of 2023 when Virgil van Dijk got the armband from the departing .

This term under he has made six assists as the Reds won a second league title. Alexander-Arnold has not been as attacking or dipped into midfield as much under Slot but he has still been a huge figure in the title-winning success.

It is understood the defender was happy at Liverpool but the chance of a new challenge abroad has enticed him to make a move. He will link up with England team-mate in Madrid and the pair have built up a close bond while playing for the national team.

Real are starting to make changes to their team and there’s a chance Alexander-Arnold could work under former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso in Spain. Carlo Ancelotti looks set to leave Madrid this summer with Alonso the hot favourite to replace him.

Liverpool tried to keep the defender at the club with sporting director Richard Hughes making it one of his priorities when he arrived at the club last summer. In fact, it was the first call he made after accepting the role last year before he officially joined.

But the club had already made contact with Alexander-Arnold last season to start talks and his representatives with FSG even initiating contact earlier. Talks were understood to be constructive with an offer on the table to the player which would have made him the best paid right-back in the Premier League and one of the highest paid in the .

However, despite continuing with talks it became clear that Liverpool could not offer Alexander-Arnold what he really wanted which was a new challenge.

Real tried in January to sign him then but Liverpool rejected their approach as they were still keen to convince him to stay. Alexander-Arnold informed Slot a few weeks ago about his decision after a final meeting with Hughes when it became clear that he was intent on leaving.

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