Real Madrid are 'ready' to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold before his contract is up
Los Blancos want him to be registered for the Club World Cup in mid-June
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By YASEEN ZAMAN
Published: 08:46 EST, 8 March 2025 | Updated: 08:46 EST, 8 March 2025
Real Madrid are ready to pay a fee to get their hands on Trent Alexander-Arnold before his contract expires with Liverpool on June 30, according to a report.
Alexander-Arnold, 26, has been the subject of intense speculation in recent times, with the defender - alongside Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah - out of contract at the end of the season.
Liverpool remain in negotiations with all three stars, but no breakthrough has been made as the months tick by, and the players are able to speak to overseas clubs about joining on a free transfer in the summer.
Alexander-Arnold's future has come under considerable scrutiny, with the 26-year-old heavily linked with Madrid, who recently saw a £20million bid rejected in the January transfer window.
Multiple reports have revealed that Alexander-Arnold has verbally agreed to join Los Blancos this summer. But the Spanish giants want to bring him to the Bernabeu before that, according to The Sun.
Madrid want the Reds defender in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad in time for the start of the Club World Cup in the USA on June 15 - just 15 days before Alexander-Arnold's contract expires.
Real Madrid want to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold before his contract expires on June 30
Los Blancos will have to wait until June 1, when the summer transfer window opens, to sign him
Madrid want Alexander-Arnold registered in their squad for the Club World Cup in mid-June
To do so, Madrid would have to pay Liverpool a transfer fee to release their academy graduate from his contract early - the exact amount is unknown.
In order to accommodate for the early start to this year's rendition of the Club World Cup, the transfer window opens on June 1, which will allow teams to register new signings before the tournament begins.
If Madrid's bid to sign Alexander-Arnold before his contract expires is unsuccessful, they still have a very slim chance to register him for the Club World Cup.
FIFA have created an ‘exceptional registration window’ before the tournament’s last-16 - from June 27 to July 3 - which allows clubs to add two players to their squads.
This means Madrid would have to get their hands on their man and register him, just three days after his contract expires at Liverpool.
Ancelotti’s side kick off their Club World Cup campaign against Saudi outfit Al-Hilal in their first group game in Miami on June 18.
Alexander-Arnold has remained tight-lipped on his future, with his last public quotes on the topic coming in September.
'I want to be a Liverpool player this season (as a minimum) is what I will say,' he explained.
Alexander-Arnold's move to Madrid has already been verbally agreed, according to reports
However, he is not expected to attempt to force through a move away from Liverpool
'Look, I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions, none of those have been played out in public, and this one won’t be either.'
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Arne Slot insisted in January that transfer rumours do not distract him or his players, and downplayed any notion that Alexander-Arnold is anything but committed to Liverpool's title bid this season.
'For me, there’s no distraction at all and I don’t see any distraction with Trent as well, if you simply look at his performances and how he trains,' Slot said.
'I see him train every day and it’s the same with Virgil (Van Dijk) and Mo (Salah) and all the others because if you play at a club like this, every player is probably in the interest of someone.
'That’s part of football and that’s why we’re not distracted by it.'