By OkayGoal
Liverpool’s stance on a possible return for Trent Alexander-Arnold has reportedly become clear, and it is a cold one: Andoni Iraola’s side are not interested in re-signing him as things stand.
The 28-year-old ended his 20-year association with Liverpool when he joined Real Madrid in June 2025 for a £10m fee, before his contract ran out. Now, with game time hard to come by in Spain, talk of a way back to Anfield has started again.
According to Football Insider, Alexander-Arnold is not on Liverpool’s list of transfer targets, so any Trent Alexander-Arnold transfer back to Merseyside looks a long way off.
Why is Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid exit being discussed?
The numbers explain the noise. He started 29 of his 42 appearances for Real Madrid last season, but under new head coach Jose Mourinho the minutes have dried up. He has started only four of Madrid’s 13 matches in La Liga and the Champions League in 2026-27, and he has played a full 90 minutes just once, in a 4-0 league win over Malaga in late August.
In the latest Clasico, a 2-1 away win over Barcelona, Federico Valverde started at right-back while Denzel Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold waited on the bench. Alexander-Arnold only came on as a last-minute substitute. He still has five years left on his Madrid contract, but the limited playing time has fuelled the exit speculation.
Would Liverpool want Trent Alexander-Arnold back?
The return talk has surfaced at a time when Liverpool have worries of their own at right-back. Jeremie Frimpong has lost his starting place to Ronald Araujo after some poor performances, a situation we looked at in our breakdown of Liverpool’s right-back problem.
Even so, Football Insider’s reading is that the Reds are not looking to bring Alexander-Arnold back. Whatever the gaps in Iraola’s squad, a reunion is not part of the plan right now.
Will Alexander-Arnold leave Real Madrid in January?
Guillem Balague, speaking on talkSPORT, has ruled out a January departure. He says Alexander-Arnold accepts that “it’s not my time” but expects his chance to come. Balague pointed out that Valverde and Dumfries are ahead of him in the pecking order and that Mourinho has told him to keep working, concluding that the player “has got no intention of leaving.”
There is also an England angle. The defender could drop out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad unless he takes the chances he gets, with England in action during the November international break. Real Madrid’s next league game is against newly promoted Racing Santander on Sunday, so another opportunity is close.
Author Opinion
This one reads as a standoff with no real urgency on either side. Liverpool have no appetite for a return, and Alexander-Arnold, by Balague’s account, has no appetite to leave. The Alexander-Arnold Liverpool return talk will keep bubbling while he sits on the bench, but on current evidence it stays talk. Racing Santander on Sunday is his next chance to change the conversation.