Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher admitted that he believes Trent Alexander-Arnold will depart Anfield at the end of the season after the right-back outlined his ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or.
The England defender helped provide the Reds’ second equaliser at the Emirates Stadium as they shared the spoils with Arsenal, with his long through ball finding Darwin Nunez who set up Mohamed Salah in the 81st minute. But Carragher has warned fans on Merseyside to cherish Alexander-Arnold while they can.
The pundit described Alexander-Arnold’s choice of wanting to the Ballon d’Or over the World Cup as “bizarre” and felt that it was indicative of the full-back wanting to leave on a free transfer next summer.
“I do believe Van Dijk and Salah will definitely renew their contracts,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “Trent on the other hand, I’m worried about. The longer it drags on, I think he joins Real Madrid.”
Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s contracts all expire at the end of the season and the former has continued to be linked with a move to Real Madrid, where he would succeed Dani Carvajal and join his good friend Jude Bellingham.
And he has eyes on a big prize that Carragher believes has hinted that Alexander-Arnold’s future is not at Liverpool beyond the current campaign.
“I believe I can [win the Ballon d’Or],” Alexander-Arnold told the broadcaster in the build-up to Liverpool‘s 2-2 draw with Arsenal. “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.”
Asked how he wants to be remembered after he retires, Alexander-Arnold added: “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’. 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.”
The Liverpool vice-captain’s admission has left Carragher baffled and he is of the opinion that the 26-year-old will depart at the end of the current season, when his contract at Anfield expires.
“He can try and win the Ballon d’Or, there’s nothing wrong with ambition, but my first thought when I read that was ‘you’re not winning the Ballon d’Or as a right-back for Liverpool‘,” Carragher said.
“Ballon d’Or winners normally play for Real Madrid or Barcelona. That’s where the best players in the world go. If that’s his ultimate ambition, I think he was asked about winning the Champions League, the World Cup or the Ballon d’Or. And he chose the Ballon d’Or, which I think is a bit strange or bizarre.
“I think you would always pick the World Cup or the Champions League, it’s a team game, but he has got massive ambition and why not? You only get one career. He is a unique full-back, he’s absolutely amazing and got Liverpool back into the game today with the pass.
“But the first thing that came to me when I read that interview is that I think he is going to Real Madrid.”
