Alexander-Arnold fighting for minutes at Real Madrid after June 2025 move
Trent Alexander-Arnold has struggled to establish himself at Real Madrid since joining the club in June 2025, featuring in seven of the 13 matches Real have played this season and starting only four. He has provided one assist — in a 4-0 home win over Malaga — and his involvement has dropped sharply in recent fixtures.
Alexander-Arnold arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu with the aim of becoming the club's first-choice right-back, but the summer arrival of Denzel Dumfries and Jose Mourinho's use of Fede Valverde at right-back have left him listed as third choice. The 28-year-old signed a contract that runs until 2031 after Real paid 10m euros (£8.33m) to secure his early release so he could be available for the Club World Cup rather than arrive on a free transfer later. At his first public appearance he addressed supporters in Spanish and called signing for Real a "dream come true": "I'm very happy and proud to be here. I'm eager to show the club and the fans what I can do," he added.
On the field, Alexander-Arnold has appeared in seven of Real's 13 games this season, starting four times and registering one assist in the 4-0 victory over Malaga. His game time has fallen away over the last four matches: he did not play against Roma, Sevilla or RB Leipzig and was given only a couple of minutes as a stoppage-time substitute in the Clasico.
His first season at the club provided limited continuity: he made 21 La Liga appearances in 2025-26, with 14 starts, but injuries and inconsistent selection prevented him from becoming a regular. A hamstring problem in September and a thigh injury in December followed a pre-season muscle issue, all of which disrupted his preparations and competitive rhythm.
Real's managerial turnover also affected Alexander-Arnold's integration, with Xabi Alonso's departure and Alvaro Arbeloa's subsequent appointment requiring adaptation to new leadership during his debut campaign. Mourinho has acknowledged the difficulty of selection and the need to prioritise team balance, saying: "First of all, it hurts me. I don't like to make players feel bad. I want them to feel good," and adding, "Obviously, when you build a squad with two players per position as your foundation and then have a third player take the field, that's something I don't like.
"But there are things that are more important than these feelings. Things that are more important for the team at a given moment. And I decided that right now, the move was to change up the midfield and put Fede [Valverde] in there. "But I was thinking about the team, not the players. Trent and Dumfries took it well when I explained that it was a decision for the team and not against the players."
Mourinho has previously praised Alexander-Arnold's versatility and used him in different roles, including as a central midfielder alongside Valverde against Inter Milan in September, when he said the player had "interpreted what he needed to really well, tactically" and that he and Valverde had "worked very well at this level". Mourinho also emphasised squad motivation: "Right now, we are working to make sure all the players are ready at all times, so everyone feels they could be playing and that they are important. That's very important for motivation."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, speaking on The Overlap, said he would welcome Alexander-Arnold back to Merseyside: "I'd have him back," Carragher said. "He would get a lot of criticism, because I think he made a mistake. I think he made a big mistake going to Madrid. "We've definitely missed his creativity." Carragher also noted Alexander-Arnold's current standing at Real: "At the moment, he's actually third-choice right-back for Real Madrid. They're playing a midfield player [Federico Valverde] at right-back, so even in El Clasico, Denzel Dumfries, the first-choice right-back, comes on as a substitute. "So when you're third choice at a club, they're obviously wanting you to move on."
For now, Alexander-Arnold is seeking more minutes in Real Madrid's next three fixtures — two league games and one Champions League tie — before the international break, while also hoping to keep his place in Thomas Tuchel's England squad, which is due to be announced on 6 November ahead of Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain. He was recalled for September's international window, ending an absence from the squad dating back to June 2025, but his lack of regular club minutes is likely to factor into Tuchel's selection decision.
