Trent Alexander-Arnold did not appear overly enthusiastic while interacting with young fans seeking pictures and autographs ahead of his second season with Real Madrid
Trent Alexander-Arnold of Real Madrid in a friendly
Trent Alexander-Arnold is preparing for his second season with Real Madrid(Image: Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Trent Alexander-Arnold cut a despondent figure while he interacted with Real Madrid fans from the passenger seat of his car.
Alexander-Arnold is still finding his feet at Real Madrid following a turbulent first season since his controversial move away from Liverpool in June 2025. The former Reds star’s debut campaign in the Spanish capital was plagued by injuries, lack of form, changing room chaos, and the abrupt firing of manager Xabi Alonso midway through the season.
After missing out on an England call-up for the 2026 World Cup, Alexander-Arnold is now set to compete with recent signing Denzel Dumfries for minutes under new manager Jose Mourinho this season.
If Alexander-Arnold’s expression during a recent interaction with Real Madrid fans is any indication, he remains less than thrilled with life abroad.
A TikTok video posted on July 23 showed multiple young fans standing next to Alexander-Arnold’s car as he sat in the passenger seat.
Immediately after lowering his window to sign their jerseys, he had a phone stuck straight in front of his face before agreeing to take a photo with a young fan wearing a Brazil national team jersey.
Throughout the minute-long video, Alexander-Arnold did not smile once and instead kept a deadpan expression as he took photos and signed autographs.
Towards the end of the interaction, he shook hands with the kids and even gave one a wink, perhaps as a show of appreciation for their support.
The entire clip had a song playing over it, so it is unclear if the kids were saying anything to Alexander-Arnold throughout the interaction.
After missing more than three months of competitive action in his first season with Real Madrid, in which the club failed to win a trophy, Alexander-Arnold has been a full participant in preseason training and friendly matches.
The 27-year-old has played 225 out of a possible 270 minutes across Real Madrid’s three preseason games so far against Leganes, Fiorentina, and Ferencvaros, and reports out of camp suggest Mourinho has been impressed with him after working together for a few weeks.
Only time will tell whether Alexander-Arnold can re-find the form that made him one of the most highly-touted players in the world during his eight seasons in Liverpool’s first team.
In his first year with Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold made 30 total appearances and 22 starts across La Liga and the Champions League, providing five total assists and zero goals. But recurring injuries put a severe damper on his form.
The Englishman missed seven weeks with a hamstring tear between mid-September and late-October 2025 before another two-month spell on the sidelines with a thigh muscle injury from Dec. 2025 to Feb. 2025.