Liverpool have announced that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be leaving the club when his contract at Anfield expires at the end of the season.
Alexander-Arnold’s departure this summer, reportedly to Real Madrid, will bring an end to a 20-year spell at his boyhood team during which he made 257 Premier League appearances, helping Liverpool to win the title in 2019/20 and 2024/25 and finish as runners-up in 2018/19 and 2021/22.
“I think first and foremost, I want to say it’s not an easy decision and there’s a lot of thought and feeling that has gone into it," Alexander-Arnold told the club's official website. "I’ve been here 20 years now, loved every single minute of it, achieved all my dreams, achieved everything I’ve ever wanted to here.
“Giving everything day in, day out for 20 years, I’ve got to a point now where I feel like I need a new change, a new challenge for me as a player and as a person. And I think now is the right time for me to do that.
"There’s a lot I would like to say. The main thing is a massive thank you. You guys have been there from the start with me, you guys have supported me, been there.
“I’ve felt the support, the love, everything that you guys have done has never been unnoticed by me, I’ve loved every single minute of it. I hope they have felt that has been reciprocated and that I’ve given everything I could to the club.
“I’m just hoping that we’re able to carry on winning games, the noise [around my decision] doesn’t take away from the fact of what we’ve achieved this season.
“It has been an amazing season. It has been amazing to be part of it and I just hope that everyone is able to maybe not dwell on this news for too long and be able to celebrate what the rest of the lads have done.”
In an official club statement, Liverpool said: "Alexander-Arnold will depart with our gratitude and appreciation for his contribution during a sustained period of success.”
Alexander-Arnold's legacy
As a defender, Alexander-Arnold has played a part in 72 clean sheets but as an attacking full-back, he has provided 82 goal involvements (18 goals, 64 assists).
The England defender, now 26, first joined the Merseyside club as a six-year-old and rose through the ranks of Liverpool's academy where he mainly played as a midfielder.
Alexander-Arnold captained Liverpool's Under-16 and Under-18 teams, but it was his switch from a midfield role to defence that fast-tracked his breakthrough into the first team.
Having been handed a senior debut as an 18-year-old by Jurgen Klopp in the EFL Cup in October 2016, Alexander-Arnold never looked back and the creative ability he had developed as a midfielder became a game-changing attribute at right-back.
Alexander-Arnold became an integral part of a Liverpool side that lifted four trophies in 14 months. After winning the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19, he helped the Reds to claim the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2019/20 - a season in which he passed the 100-appearances mark for his boyhood club.
Indeed, his importance to Klopp was underlined by the fact he featured in all 38 matches en route to Liverpool's first English league title since 1990.
A mural on the side of a house in Liverpool pays tribute to Alexander-Arnold with his famous words from after winning the Champions League, "I am just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true."
Alexander-Arnold contributed 13 Premier League assists during 2019/20 – a record for a defender – having bettered his tally of 12 in 2018/19. His emergence as a world-class right-back was confirmed.
The No 66's leadership qualities did not go unnoticed by head coach Klopp, and in December 2020 he became the youngest player to captain Liverpool in European competition, in a 1-1 UEFA Champions League draw with Midtyjlland.
All-time most PL assists by a defender
| Player | Total assists |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 64 |
|---|---|
| Andy Robertson | 59 |
| Leighton Baines | 53 |
Alexander-Arnold signed a new long-term deal the following summer and went on to deliver stellar performances throughout the 2021/22 season, winning November's EA SPORT Player of the Month award, the second time he had claimed the accolade.
Seamlessly turning defence into attack, he went on to produce a career-best 18 assists in all competitions - including 12 in the Premier League - across a 63-match campaign in which Alexander-Arnold reached another Champions League final and picked up EFL Cup and FA Cup winner's medals.
Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool honours
| Honour | Season |
| UEFA Champions League | 2018/19 |
|---|---|
| Premier League | 2019/20, 2024/25 |
| UEFA Super Cup | 2019/20 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | 2019 |
| FA Cup | 2021/22 |
| League Cup | 2021/22, 2023/24 |
Alexander-Arnold's exceptional versatility and vision led to him being given a new inverted full-back role towards the end of the following campaign, moving into midfield when in possession.
This switch proved a catalyst for an improved run of form and in the same month when he produced the 50th Premier League assist of his career, at Leeds United in April 2023, he became the first player to assist a goal in five consecutive top-flight matches on two occasions.
Despite injury restricting him to 28 appearances in 2023/24, Alexander-Arnold still recorded seven goal involvements (three goals, four assists). In 2024/25, he has three goals and six assists during another injury-affected campaign.