Michael Edwards bombshell confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool exit

Liverpool fans were left upset by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to run down his contract and leave for Real Madrid last summer.

The defender, 26, had earlier been promoted to the role of vice-captain - and looked like a candidate to replace Virgil van Dijk as club captain one day.

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But rather than remain with his boyhood team for the entirety of his playing career, Trent cashed his chips and moved to the Bernabeu.

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Alexander-Arnold signed a strategic four-year contract back in 2021 - stretching to summer 2025 - indicating that he would make a move when those terms expired.

Liverpool earn £10m for Trent

As it transpired, Trent did not actually get the free transfer he’d long hoped for.

Madrid were active in the FIFA Club World Cup - and wanted Trent on board for the opening stages of the competition. If they’d waited until the conclusion of his Liverpool contract then they could have used him only for the knockout stages.

And so a deal to take Trent to the Spanish capital was agreed - costing Madrid £10m and boosting Liverpool’s coffers in a masterstroke from the Reds sporting director Richard Hughes.

It’s now been disclosed how Trent learned that a deal had been agreed for his services.

Edwards tells Trent: You've been sold

In a report in the Telegraph, it’s claimed that the player was cornered by Hughes, FSG CEO of Football Michael Edwards and FSG president Mike Gordon during the open-top bus parade through the city following the 2024/25 Premier League title win.

“On the bus parade through the streets of Liverpool to celebrate the club’s Premier League title on May 26, Trent Alexander-Arnold was approached for a discreet chat by the club’s leading executives – and learnt he was not leaving on a free transfer after all,” the report reads.

“It was there that Alexander-Arnold spoke to Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes and the main man himself, Mike Gordon, president of the club’s US owner Fenway Sports Group, who had some news to disclose.

"They told Alexander-Arnold that Real Madrid had agreed a fee with Liverpool to sign him before his contract expired on June 30.”

Trent not off to a great start at Madrid

Alexander-Arnold had been struggling with an ankle injury since the previous March when he went off against Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool telling Trent he was leaving at the end of May - rather than the end of June - effectively prolonged his season into the Club World Cup.

Trent did not turn in his best performances in the United States and sat out the semi-final defeat to PSG due to the injury.

He’s not enjoyed the best of starts at Madrid in LaLiga either - short of a proper preseason - and he has already found himself in a big fight over his position in the team with long-time veteran Dani Carvajal.

Had he remained with Liverpool he could have benefitted from a longer rest - not to mention the satisfaction and security that comes with representing the Reds as a hometown favourite.

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