Trent Alexander-Arnold has featured in seven of the 13 matches Real Madrid have played this season, starting four times and registering one assist, as the England full-back has fallen to third choice at right-back under manager Jose Mourinho.
It has not been an easy start to the season for Alexander-Arnold. He joined Real Madrid in June 2025 with the ambition of establishing himself as the club’s first-choice right-back, but the reality has been very different.
The arrival of Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan this summer added more competition for the position. Mourinho now appears to favour Fede Valverde, normally a midfielder, as a starter at right-back. That leaves Alexander-Arnold behind two players in the pecking order and raises questions about where, and in what role, Mourinho sees the England international’s future.
Alexander-Arnold has played in seven of Real’s 13 games this season, but he has started only four times. His one assist came in a 4-0 home win over Malaga. His involvement has declined over the past four matches. He did not play against Roma, Sevilla or RB Leipzig, and he received just a couple of minutes in El Clasico, when he came on in stoppage time.
Alexander-Arnold has just turned 28. Real showed how much they wanted him last summer by paying 10m euros (£8.33m) to secure his early release from Liverpool and make him available for the Club World Cup, rather than waiting for his contract to expire and signing him on a free transfer. Despite holding a contract until 2031, his future now hangs in the balance.
A dream come true
Alexander-Arnold made an excellent first impression. During his first public appearance, he delivered his arrival speech in Spanish and called signing for Real a “dream come true.”
“I’m very happy and proud to be here,” he said. “I’m eager to show the club and the fans what I can do.”
Expectations were high. His signing appeared to form part of the club’s succession plan at right-back. He could provide cover for Dani Carvajal while positioning himself as a potential long-term successor to the veteran Spaniard. His first season, however, fell short of those hopes. He made 21 La Liga appearances in 2025-26 out of a possible 38, with 14 starts, as injuries and a lack of continuity kept him from becoming a regular.
Several factors have contributed to his struggles, and he is not the only Real player to have found his best form elusive during a turbulent period for the club. Injuries have played a significant role. A hamstring problem in September and a thigh injury in December disrupted his first campaign and denied him the sustained run of games he needed to build momentum and develop an understanding with his new team-mates. A muscle issue during pre-season had already interrupted his preparations.
Changes in leadership did not help. Xabi Alonso’s departure and Alvaro Arbeloa’s subsequent appointment forced Alexander-Arnold to adapt to a new manager during his debut season. Neither tenure brought the consistency Real had hoped for, and Mourinho now faces the task of balancing a squad packed with talent.
Could he leave Real Madrid in January?
Mourinho has addressed speculation that Alexander-Arnold could leave in January. He admitted that difficult selection decisions are painful but insisted that the team’s needs must come first.
“First of all, it hurts me. I don’t like to make players feel bad. I want them to feel good,” Mourinho said.
“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 tactical intelligence. At his first news conference in August, he stressed that competition for places would be important, naming Trent alongside Netherlands international Dumfries.
“It is not possible to think that one will play 60 games and the other none,” he said, underlining the need to keep his squad involved and motivated.
That flexibility showed against Inter Milan in September. Several midfield options were unavailable through suspension, so Mourinho deployed Alexander-Arnold in central midfield alongside Valverde. Mourinho was pleased with the defender’s display. He said Alexander-Arnold had “interpreted what he needed to really well, tactically” and that he and Valverde had “worked very well at this level.”
“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.”
A return to Liverpool?
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 highlighted his position in Real’s pecking order.
“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 will hope for more minutes in Real’s next three games, two league matches and one Champions League fixture, before the international break.
He will also hope to keep his place in Thomas Tuchel’s next England squad, which is due to be announced on 6 November ahead of the Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain. Alexander-Arnold was recalled for September’s international window, ending an absence from the squad that dated back to June 2025. With competition for the right-back position still strong, his lack of regular club playing time could count against him. Tuchel will have to decide whether to stick with Alexander-Arnold or turn to alternative options.