Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham enlisted Ryan Gravenberch in his search for Trent Alexander-Arnold's shirt
Jude Bellingham waited in the Anfield tunnel to swap shirts with England pal Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Bellingham played all 90 minutes as Real Madrid lost to Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool side on Wednesday night. The two rivals have developed a close friendship from their time with the English national side. Alexander-Arnold may well even join Bellingham at Madrid in the summer when his contract at Anfield comes to an end.
And while the right-back did not come off the bench for the Reds, Bellingham was still keen to swap shirts with him.
Footage from inside the tunnel at Anfield shows Bellingham leaning by a wall outside the doors to Liverpool's dressing room. Although Alexander-Arnold did not appear, Ryan Gravenberch was happy to fulfill Bellingham's wish.
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As the Dutchman headed down the tunnel, Bellingham stopped him and asked him for a favour. The midfielder then headed through the doors and returned soon after with Alexander-Arnold's shirt.
Bellingham handed Gravenberch his own jersey in exchange before heading back to Madrid's dressing room. The Madrid star grew close to Alexander-Arnold during England's run to the Euro 2024 final.
It was not a happy evening for Bellingham ahead of his shirt swap. As well as failing to help Madrid avoid defeat at Anfield, he was also incessantly booed during the Champions League clash.
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Bellingham handed his shirt to Gravenberch after the Dutchman returned with Alexander-Arnold's
Bellingham handed his shirt to Gravenberch after the Dutchman returned with Alexander-Arnold's ( Image: TNT Sports)
Superstar attacker Kylian Mbappe was also loudly jeered, likely due to the fact that both players snubbed moves to Liverpool to instead head to the Bernabeu. A depleted Madrid team struggled against Arne Slot's men.
Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Daniel Carvajal all missed the game through varying degrees of injury. But Bellingham refused to use that as an excuse and instead insisted the La Liga giants had to improve.
“They were better than us. Sometimes we have to be honest. We didn't dominate the game and the chances we had to harm them were not clear-cut. It's disappointing. We knew it was going to be tough, but we would've liked to play better," he said.
“Mbappé gives us a lot and I'm sure he'll give us a lot in the future. It can happen when you take responsibility. Anyone can miss a penalty and that wasn't the reason we lost today. It was a collective issue. We win together and we lose together.”
“It's not an excuse. They also had injuries and players who were not 100%. It's part of the game and you have to deal with it. When we had the ball we didn't threaten enough and that's not because of injuries and players who weren't there. We didn't take responsibility. We didn't take the bull by the horns and they did.”
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