One of the cruellest realities as to the debate around Trent Alexander-Arnold and his lost genius is that, in Madrid, no such debate exists. While we search for answers, those in Spain have little interest in the question.
That is where the 28-year-old finds himself heading into Sunday’s El Clasico, a match that monopolises every column inch and conversation in the Spanish media. This week, that coverage has not bothered much with Alexander-Arnold. He is Real Madrid’s third-choice right back. He is not a Galactico.
Yet, we continue to wonder what has happened, and what will happen, to our fallen star. It was six years ago when I spoke to Cafu about Brazil and World Cups. He wanted to talk about Alexander-Arnold.
‘He can take the position of right back to another level,’ said the greatest right back in the history of the game.
‘I think we’ve started changing the narrative (because of Alexander-Arnold), with the way people view full backs. It’s not just the goalscorer who should be the best player in the world. It is totally wrong that some great players never won the Ballon d’Or because of their position. Nowadays, full backs should be seen as the main protagonists in the game.’
And, for a while after, Alexander-Arnold was exactly that. He was spoken about as a Ballon d’Or contender. In 2022, he was voted in the top 25 players. Even in the summer of 2025, when he joined Real from Liverpool, there was hope, at least here, that his undeniable gifts would flourish once more.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s career is at a crossroads despite his high-profile move to Madrid
He joined the Spanish club to much fanfare but is an indifferent figure among fans
Such enthusiasm, however, has never really been shared in the Spanish capital. Jose Mourinho’s indifference towards the Scouser has echoes of Thomas Tuchel with England, and Alexander-Arnold’s managers, it would appear, see more of the flaws as opposed to the brilliance that once blinded us to the former. Mourinho is his third boss at the Bernabeu.
Terry Gibson, formerly of Wimbledon and Manchester United, has covered Spanish football for two decades and will be commentating on Sunday’s game for La Liga TV. Like him, he expects Alexander-Arnold to be on the sidelines.
‘He has never been regarded as a major, superstar signing,’ Gibson told me this week. ‘Even when he joined, the hope was that Dani Carvajal would be fit and play ahead of him. Then, when Carvajal left this summer, they signed Denzel Dumfries. But the bigger problem now is that Mourinho has moved Federico Valverde, a midfielder, to right back.
‘I had to smile last Sunday night. Valverde started and then Mourinho put Eder Militao at right back late on. The camera cut to Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold on the bench and they looked at each other as if to say, “I thought this was our competition”.’
They are still in competition, but only for the role of back up to Valverde.
‘In my opinion, Jose is fudging it a little bit in order to get his captain in the team,’ says Gibson. ‘But that’s the reality of it for Alexander-Arnold now. The supporters are kind of indifferent to him. They’re nonplussed about whether he stays, goes, plays or whatever. That’s sad. It’s also a crying shame that of all the top coaches he’s worked with, none of them have been able to improve him defensively. He’s 28 now, so that’s not going to change.
‘At times, some of the stuff he’s done here has been awesome. His last match against Villarreal (October 10) I thought was one of his best performances for Real. His set-pieces were brilliant, his cross-field balls. Then, just after half-time, Mourinho took him off when there was no need and we haven’t seen him since. He’ll play against the lesser teams at home, maybe, but we shouldn’t expect to see much of him in the bigger games.’
In Alexander-Arnold’s defence – and, as ever, this is an argument about his attacking merits – sources in Spain say that Kylian Mbappe loves playing with him. There was one trademark cross during a 4-0 home win over Malaga in August that laid on a goal for the France striker, and they had also swapped passes in the build-up. But this speaks to Gibson’s observation – trialled in the smaller ones, not trusted in the bigger ones.
Jose Mourinho prefers Federico Valverde at right back, with Alexander-Arnold third choice
The Englishman is 28 and has a decision to make over his footballing future
There was one headline in Spain this month, on the day of his birthday, that read: ‘Trent turns 28 without Mourinho’s confidence.’ History tells us, Mourinho’s support is not easy to regain.
A week earlier, during the international break and following Alexander-Arnold’s surprise recall by Tuchel, Madrid newspaper AS observed: ‘England reveals the best of Trent.’ Again, though, this was at home to Czech Republic in a routine 3-0 win. He did not feature against Spain.
Indeed, some cynics suspected that, at least in part, Tuchel’s motivation in selecting Alexander-Arnold in the squad was to divert conversation from the continued fallout of England’s World Cup exit and the head coach’s part in that. His playing time with England, you suspect, will be just as limited as in Madrid.
Injuries have not helped in Spain, and data shows he missed 23 Real fixtures last season.
‘He missed a real opportunity,’ says Gibson. ‘Because if he’d stayed fit, that position was there for the taking. So he’s not guilty of doing anything wrong, really. He’s never received too much criticism. He’s never received too much praise.’
That conversation with Cafu seems like a long time ago now. But as for the next six years, Alexander-Arnold has a decision to make. Because those who make the decisions in Madrid have probably decided he is not for them.
