Despite his contract running out at the end of June, Real Madrid paid Liverpool £10 million to secure Trent Alexander-Arnold’s registration in time for the revamped Club World Cup kicking off this Sunday.
Two weeks after the transfer was made official, Alexander-Arnold is set to be formally presented as a Real Madrid player at the Bernabéu on Thursday.
As he arrived for the presentation, a crowd of Real Madrid fans gathered to welcome him and premiered a chant dedicated to their latest signing.
However, Liverpool fans were far from impressed. Many believe the defender’s facial expressions showed he already regrets leaving Anfield.
While meeting with club staff outside a Madrid medical facility, the 26-year-old was welcomed by fans chanting “Arnold” and clapping enthusiastically.
The chant surfaced just a day after it was revealed that Alexander-Arnold would switch from his trademark No. 66 to No. 12, in line with La Liga rules requiring squad numbers to be between 1 and 25.
In a surprising move, the England international also chose to display his first name, “Trent,” on the back of his new shirt rather than his last name.
But fans of his former club claim Real Madrid supporters missed the memo on the rebrand, still chanting “Arnold,” which they believe will irritate the player.
One Liverpool fan posted on X with a laughing emoji: “Shouting ‘Arnold!’ after he’s gone through all the effort to rebrand to ‘Trent.’”
Another commented: “Yeah, the ‘Arnold’ chant—he’s definitely regretting this.”
A third added: “He used to have so much aura. What happened?”
Alexander-Arnold is Madrid’s second summer signing, following the unveiling of ex-Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, presented on June 10 as Xabi Alonso’s first acquisition.
While the exact date of Alexander-Arnold’s debut remains unclear, he’s expected to possibly feature as early as June 18 in Real Madrid’s Club World Cup match against Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia
