Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool on a free transfer this summer before his generally expected move to Real Madrid, and Arsene Wenger believes that it has been a long-term movement
Arsene Wenger believes that Real Madrid would have spoken with Trent Alexander-Arnold for two years before the end of his Liverpool contract.
Reds Right-back Alexander-Arnold announced on Monday that this summer he will put an end to his 20-year-old association with his boys' club, in which the English international is generally expected to sign for real, perhaps before the start of the club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold called the move “Easily the most difficult decision” he made in his career, but former Arsenal boss Wenger believes that the switch shows that the era of bloated transfer costs is over, and that clubs such as Real play the long game and encourage their goals to walk their deals.
Speaking as an expert on Bein Sports next to the former Chelsea, AC Milan and France defender Marcel Desailly, Gunners -legend Wenger said: “I believe it now shows the trend of transfers, and it shows a new trend in the game.
“There is no more transfer for the big, big players. They all go at the end of their contract because the wages are so high that [if] Today you want to buy Marcel that you should give him so much money that you can no longer pay the transfer.
“So what do the big clubs do? They say two years before the end of a contract that we want to buy you, we give you these wages and we will try to make an offer to the club.
“If it doesn't work, we'll be back next year and if it doesn't work, we'll take you for free. That's what they [Real Madrid ] with [Kylian] Mbappe too. “
Mbappe moved to Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last summer after previous attempts to buy him were rejected, while Liverpool also rejected Real's progress to buy Alexander-Arnold in the transfer star of January, while Arne Slot wanted to keep his team Lague Lague Lague Lague Lague League Lague.
When Alexander-Arnold entered the last two years of his deal in the summer of 2023, Liverpool was about to start a season outside the Champions League, while there was an unrest in the boardroom because of the Quickfire Departures of Secretive Sporting Directors Michael and Julian Ward.
Liverpool had hoped to keep Alexander-Arnold and opened discussions with him about a new deal towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign, but by that time there was further uncertainty about Anfield because of the approaching departure of Jurgen Klopp.
Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah all started the 2024-25 campaign with another year left on their deals, but waiting to see how things would change for the Reds under the new boss Arne Slot and incoming sports director Richard Hughes.
Van Dijk and Salah would eventually extend their stay in Anfield with another two years, but with the exit of Alexander-Arnold in the pipeline, the announcement of the 26-year-old Monday was as little surprise.
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