Wayne Rooney believes Trent Alexander-Arnold could still ditch his apparent plans to join Real Madrid and sign a new contract with Liverpool.

The former England captain found himself in a similar situation when he found himself strongly linked with a move from Manchester United to the Spanish giants in 2010.

Wide-ranging reports claim that Alexander-Arnold is close to signing for Real when his Liverpool deal expires at the end of the season.



Rooney found himself in a similar predicament in 2010 before eventually deciding to remain at Old Trafford and believes Alexander-Arnold could yet stay.

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Writing for the BBC, the former United striker said: “I get why Liverpool fans are upset and even angry at the thought of Alexander-Arnold leaving - all supporters like to see local lads coming through at their club, and they never like to see them being sold.

“Alexander-Arnold has been an excellent servant to the club, so you can't begrudge him wanting to try something new.

Still, as I found out myself, just because there are talks over a transfer does not mean it will happen.

“It is well known that some United fans protested outside my house when they thought I was going to leave in 2010, but I'd agreed my new contract by then.

“Alexander-Arnold has not signed anything with Real yet and it would not surprise me if, even after all this speculation, he ends up staying at Anfield after all.

A lot can happen before a contract is signed, as I know from experience.”

In 2010, Rooney was in discussions over a new contract with United but also had interest from Chelsea, Real and Barca.

A deal with Real looked more likely for a couple of days but it was Barcelona whom I thought about the most, and how I might fit into their side alongside Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets.

“In the end, I decided to stay at United, but Barca had an incredible team then and any player would have loved to have played in it.

“Real are the same now with superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, so of course it must be appealing to Alexander-Arnold to think about playing alongside them - anyone would feel the same.”


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