Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed that he has a ‘decent base level of Spanish’ following his move to Real Madrid. The England international spoke fluently after being unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu, reeling off his entire speech eloquently as opposed to new signings often being limited to ‘Hala Madrid’.
Alexander-Arnold joined Los Blancos as a free agent after opting against extending his contract with Liverpool, with a move to Madrid reported to have been in the pipeline for the latter stages of the campaign.
The right-back’s impressive speech raised eyebrows back on Merseyside, and the Liverpool academy product has now revealed that he can speak a good level of Spanish.
Speaking to the Real Madrid YouTube channel, Alexander-Arnold was asked about communicating with his new teammates, he said: “I mean, unless it’s like Spanish to Spanish players, then if me or Jude are involved, then the lads will tend to speak in English so we can understand.
“But it’s probably, I don’t know, in some ways easier than what I thought it would be, in some ways harder.” The defender then went on to speak about concede that he has faced some difficulties since joining the La Liga giants, notably in team meetings.
He continued, however, adding that one aspect of his new situation at Madrid is currently an issue: “The meetings and the tactical talks are all in Spanish so they take some getting used to. But in terms of day to day conversations, it’s easy. I have a decent base level of Spanish so I can hold a decent conversation with the lads and likewise they have a very good understanding of English so it’s easy to communicate.”
It remains to be seen how Alexander-Arnold fits into Xabi Alonso’s plans at Madrid when he makes his debut for his new side at the Club World Cup. The La Liga giants paid around £8.5million to release the defender from his contract early so that he could feature at the competition, and therefore he is expected to play a key role.
With Dani Carvajal, 33, not getting any younger and Lucas Vazquez set to leave Los Blancos and become a free agent, the higher powers at the Santiago Bernabeu will be hoping that Alexander-Arnold can settle into their side and be a mainstay for many years to come.