The forward-thinking full-back’s imminent move to Spain should be celebrated – it shows how far English football has comeSo the worst kept secret in football is out: Trent Alexander-Arnold is going to Real Madrid. It is not official yet but there is no going back after the Liverpool right-back agreed a five-year deal with Los Blancos, which will become a reality when his contract with the Reds expires at the end of June.It has been a long-time coming, with Madrid making their intentions clear at the start of the year when they made a half-hearted bid to prise the 26-year-old from Liverpool in the January transfer window. And according to Marca, the player decided as early as 2023 – shortly after his best friend Jude Bellingham had moved to Los Blancos – that his time at Liverpool had come to an end.There has been a furious reaction among many Liverpool supporters, with one fan filming himself burning his Alexander-Arnold shirt and others calling for the player to be left out of the team for the remainder of the season. Then there have been more nuanced takes, acknowledging the obvious lure of the Santiago Bernabeu while expressing disappointment that Alexander-Arnold does not want to spend his entire career at Liverpool and try and help make them the second biggest force in Europe behind Madrid.But both conclusions are ultimately wrong. Real Madrid has and always will be the ultimate destination for any footballer, except perhaps those who grew up supporting Barcelona. And the fact that Europe’s most successful club want to sign Alexander-Arnold should be celebrated…
