Liverpool is reportedly set to bank a tidy fee from Real Madrid for Trent Alexander-Arnold, despite the right-back being just weeks away from the end of his Reds contract.
In any other summer, Alexander-Arnold would simply see out the final month of his Reds deal following the end of the season, before seamlessly transitioning to his Madrid contract on July 1. This summer's inaugural, revamped Club World Cup, though, complicates matters slightly. That's because soccer players' contracts tend to run until June 30 — and that date falls smack being in the middle of the 32-team tournament in the United States.
An exceptional transfer window, which has been introduced so that participating clubs can register new players in time for the start of the tournament, will open on June 1 and close on June 10.
It is during that window that Alexander-Arnold will join Los Blancos, and a report by Spanish outlet El Chiringuito reports that the Spanish giant will pay Liverpool around $5.6 million for the pleasure.
That's despite previous reports that Liverpool was only looking for around $1.1 million to let Alexander-Arnold out of his contract a month early.
If the El Chiringuito report is accurate, Liverpool stands to financially benefit to the tune of around $7 million from the deal (the $5.6 million fee plus more than $1 million in wages that the Reds would have been due to pay Alexander-Arnold in June).
While that figure pales in comparison to Alexander-Arnold's market value, which stands at more than $80 million, it is better than losing him for absolutely nothing, which would have been the case in any other year.
Alexander-Arnold was visibly emotional during his final Liverpool appearance over the weekend as he bid farewell to the club he has represented for the majority of his life.
He told Sky Sports: "I didn't know what to expect stepping out at Anfield today after what happened a few weeks ago but I wanted to play for the club one more time, and I said that to the manager and he trusted me to go in at half-time.
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"To get the reception that I got means more than anything to me. I've played hundreds of games for the club but I've never felt more loved and more cared for than today.
"From the bottom of my heart, I hope that one day, the fans and supporters of this club are able to recognize the hard work and everything that I've done for the team, because there wasn't a day, a minute or a second that I didn't think about the team, from six years old to 26 years old.
"Twenty years is a very, very long time, but I've loved every single minute of it. The ups and the downs, coming through the academy to the first team, and then being part of the first team properly. It's been an honor and a privilege for me to be part of this club."