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 clean sweep 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 metres 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 for years to come in his home city will for many be dictated by the decision he takes in the coming weeks over his future.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract expires at the end of the season, meaning Madrid have to pay no transfer fee for a player who has smashed Premier League records when it comes to a creative output from a right-back.
Here, AFP Sport looks at the key considerations facing the 26-year-old ahead of a career-defining call.
Liverpool like to lord over their Premier League rivals their six European Cups as by a distance the most successful English club in the competition’s history.
Madrid are in a league of their 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 also including Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
The spotlight at the state-of-the-art, newly refurbished Santiago Bernabeu could also offer Alexander-Arnold the chance to fulfil his dream of becoming the first full-back 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 got’.
“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 are 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 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.
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 on Alexander-Arnold’s choice.
“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, who 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 centre of trophy lifts in years to come as a local lad turned legend.
But Liverpool are just the latest club to learn that the magnetism of Madrid is hard to resist.
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