Liverpool’s vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and the England international has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid
Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted he would rather win the Ballon d’Or over captaining Liverpool or lifting a trophy with England.
Alexander-Arnold is currently Liverpool’s vice-captain and has previously admitted he wants to be the full-time captain one day. However, he is out of contract at Anfield at the end of the season and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
He has also been coy when asked about his future plans and Alexander-Arnold has dropped a fresh hint when asked what he would rather achieve out of winning another Champions League title, winning the Ballon d’Or, becoming Liverpool captain or winning a trophy with England.
Alexander-Arnold immediately discounted the Liverpool captaincy as he has already worn the armband before and it is “not my decision”. He told Sky Sports : “[It’s a dream], but I’ve already captained Liverpool.
“Technically I have already captained Liverpool. I mean, I would want to be Liverpool captain, but it’s not my decision, so that can’t really be in [consideration here]. Winning a World Cup with England – that would be immense and change the game, but I’d say win a Ballon d’Or.
“For sure. Because I believe I can. I want to be the first full-back to ever do it. 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. [I want to be remembered as] a legend of football, someone who changed the game. That is the main thing that I have – ‘don’t play the game; change the game’.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season (
Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
“I want that legacy of being the greatest right-back to have played football. I have got to reach for the stars and that’s where I believe my ceiling can go.”
Alexander-Arnold has spent his entire career at Liverpool so far, but has admitted that winning trophies will be a key factor in whether he decides to stay or go. “The most important thing is trophies, if I’m honest,” he said last month.
“I want to win trophies. I’m a player who’s highly motivated by trophies and winning things and being elite. That’s probably the main factor of anything. If you’ve got a personality that is an elite athlete that wants to win and will do anything to win, then that’s what drives them.”