Trent Alexander-Arnold has finally been confirmed as a Real Madrid player, but the fee they will pay to land him for the Club World Cup has been disputed.
Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold has looked destined for the Bernabeu for months. At the beginning of May, he announced his decision to leave Anfield, after months of speculation over a move to Real.
Seemingly the only thing stopping the announcement from being made then was that Real wanted him for the Club World Cup – beginning in early June – so they’ve had to pay Liverpool a fee to take him before his contract was due to end.
Reds legend Jamie Carragher demanded between £5-10million, given Real will earn close to £100million if the win the Club World Cup, though it was suggested they wanted to pay a much smaller fee.
On Friday, Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real was finally confirmed, with insider David Ornstein stating Real will pay €10million (£8.4m) to land the right-back at the beginning of June, over a week before the tournament begins.
However, that figure has been disputed in the Spanish media.
Indeed, El Mundo reports that rather than €10million, Real will pay just half of that, with their €5million (£4.2m) payment covering the final month of what Liverpool would have paid to Alexander-Arnold, but now don’t have to.
Neither Liverpool nor Real have reported the fee, so it’s not clear what is actually being paid by the Spanish outfit to land their new star.
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In any case, for the Reds’ part, they are happy to allow Alexander-Arnold to leave a month early, given he’d not have played any football for them in that time, they are at least being paid a compensation fee, and they won’t have to pay the final month of his deal.
Given Alexander-Arnold was on a reported wage of £180,000 per week, Liverpool have been saved from paying £720,000 over the course of the next month.
For Real, their new signing will be given a little bit of time to be in before he is likely thrust into action at the beginning of the Club World Cup, when Los Blancos face Al Hilal on June 18. Rounding out their group are Pachuca and RB Salzburg.
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