Trent's tough choice: Dream Madrid move, or lasting Liverpool legacy

LIVERPOOL — Trent Alexander-Arnold's proposed move from Liverpool to Real Madrid has split opinion on whether a local hero can leave Merseyside without a lasting stain on his legacy.

Alexander-Arnold joined the Reds 20 years ago as a six-year-old and has gone on to win a full house of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup titles.

His status is reflected in a mural that stands just meters from the club's Anfield stadium, emblazoned with the quote: "I'm just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true."

However, how he will be remembered in his home city in the years to come will, for many, be dictated by the decision he takes in the coming weeks.

Alexander-Arnold's contract expires at the end of the season, meaning Madrid has to pay no transfer fee for a player who has smashed Premier League records when it comes to creative output from right-back.

Here are the key considerations facing the 26-year-old ahead of a career-defining call.

Off to reign in Spain?

Liverpool likes to lord it over its Premier League rivals with its six European Cups, as, by a distance, it is the most successful English club in the competition's history.

Madrid is in a league of its own, with 15 European Cup or Champions League triumphs, including six in the past 11 years.

On top of the lifestyle benefits that a switch to the Spanish sunshine offers, Alexander-Arnold would be lining up each week alongside his close friend and England colleague Jude Bellingham, among a cast of stars that also includes France captain Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian talisman Vinicius Junior.

The spotlight at the newly refurbished, state-of-the-art Santiago Bernabeu could also offer Alexander-Arnold the chance to fulfill his dream of becoming the first fullback to win the Ballon d'Or.

"I believe I can (win it)," Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports earlier this season. "It's only the morning after you retire that you're able to look in the mirror and say: 'I gave it everything I had'.

"It doesn't matter how many trophies you win, or how many medals you've got. It matters what you give to the game, and if you reach your full potential."

By running his contract down, Alexander-Arnold is in a strong position to make millions from a signing-on bonus in lieu of Madrid having to pay a huge transfer fee.

And he can argue there is little more to be gained by staying at Anfield.

Liverpool is 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League, meaning by the time his current deal expires, Alexander-Arnold should be a two-time English champion to go with his six other major trophies.

"His legacy, I hope, is one of an outstanding homegrown footballer who's done incredibly well for this club," Steve McManaman, who, himself, made the move from Liverpool to Real Madrid on a free transfer back in 1999, told the BBC.

Local lad to legend

McManaman won two Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles in his four years in the Spanish capital, and yet is being used as the counter-argument, encouraging Alexander-Arnold to stay.

"It's about his legacy at Liverpool and how he is seen. Do you want to be seen like (Steven) Gerrard or McManaman?" Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, himself a one-club legend, said of the choice facing Alexander-Arnold.

"He (McManaman) went to Real Madrid and won cups, but he is not adored. If he stays, he will be remembered as one of the best to play for the club, and not far behind Gerrard."

Alexander-Arnold is already the club's vice-captain and would be the natural heir to Virgil van Dijk.

In contrast to the era of Gerrard, McManaman and Michael Owen, the latter of whom also swapped Liverpool for Madrid in 2004, he is part of a side regularly competing at the top of the Premier League and Champions League.

Should he stay, Alexander-Arnold could be front and center of trophy lifts in years to come as a local lad turned legend.

But, Liverpool might be the latest club to learn that the magnetism of Madrid is hard to resist.

AFP