Trent's decision to exit Anfield was a long time in the making but it seems Madrid always get their man

PRIVATELY, there were few real surprised reactions at Liverpool when it became clear Trent Alexander-Arnold would be leaving at the end of his contract.

- By PAUL GORST

The previous year, with the player's mind genuinely uncertain at the time, there had been hope an agreement could be found over a new deal that would have made him one of the highest paid in the club's history.

But as the months rolled on without a resolution, an acceptance started to develop that Real Madrid, as they so often tend to, would eventually get their man.

This, after all, is the club who snared Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain; the team who lured Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United; and the European giant who, 25 years ago, convinced Luis Figo to jump ship from loathed rivals Barcelona.

It was in March of 2024 when the prospect of a move to Real Madrid as a free agent started to become a real consideration by those outside of Alexander-Arnold's inner circle.

The idea to cultivate Alexander-Arnold into an instantly recognisable figure beyond football had long since been in overdrive and after an initial plan to grace the cover of iconic fashion publication Vogue was hatched in 2020, he then appeared on the front pages of GQ and the Sunday Times' Style magazines.

In the summer of 2024, the Liverpudlian was enlisted as the face of designer brand Guess, to feature on billboards in Amsterdam, Milan and, yes, Madrid.

The images featured Alexander-Arnold alongside model Iris Law in Madrid's Felipe II Square, causing eyebrows to be raised in November, just days before the two clubs met in the Champions League, which the defender missed through injury.

That came around a year after he had signed a lucrative deal with boot manufacturer Adidas, which was announced less than 24 hours after he fired in the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Manchester City while sporting the latest instalment of the brand's 'Predator' boot.