Trent Alexander-Arnold has said the World Cup should never have been up for sale, with the Real Madrid star saying the tournament was an “institution”.
It comes as FIFA president Gianni Infantino was forced to abandon plans to seek private investment in a company to run FIFA tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups.
Football Institution
Speaking to the Mirror, Trent said: “I just don't think that's something that's appropriate…. it's a football institution that should remain that way and not something that's shared and owned by different people. It's something that should stand alone by itself.”
The 27-year-old also opened up about life in the Spanish capital after his move from boyhood club Liverpool last year. He said he was settling in well - but found the late-night culture hard to get his head around. He laughed: “I remember the first time we went for dinner, and it's literally just me in the restaurant. I left about 9pm….and that’s when people started to come in, and I'm like, ‘Whoa, this is quite crazy.’”
Life in Madrid
But he said that he had been “welcomed better than I could ever have imagined.” He added: “Of course, there's a massive culture change, a massive difference from life back home. At times you still find yourself struggling with the language and stuff, and it's difficult, especially the weather and the heat, but now it feels normal to to be here.”
Trent also said he was looking forward to working with new manager José Mourinho after an injury-ravaged first season at the club. He said: “If I'm honest, it feels like it wasn't the greatest season for me in terms of coming here. I picked up two big injuries at the worst kind of times of the season to have them, and then we didn't win anything as well last year, so that added to it as well. But it feels like a fresh start, a new manager, with new faces around the training ground, as well as tactics, ways of training, and that sort of thing. It feels fresh and new.”
Anfield Return
Trent was speaking a day after opening up in the Sunday Mirror about his acrimonious departure to Real Madrid last year including being booed on his return to Anfield.
He says there was a difference between supporters expressing their fury inside a football stadium and the “stuff that crossed the line”. He said: “Abuse online and threats made via social DMs or in other ways are a sad part of life in 2026 if you’re in the public eye and doing things that create a lot of attention. I choose to keep those things away from me because they don’t feel real.”
The right-back returned to Anfield last November for a Champions League match in which they lost 1-0. Alexander-Arnold was jeered by fans when he was introduced from the bench in the 80th minute, as well as during the warm-up.
He said: “The booing and disappointment from Liverpool supporters is something I’m absolutely able to shoulder. I can understand it, in my own way. I heard a lot during that period that Liverpool fans didn’t want to be told how to feel or think, and I agree. But I hope one day there’ll be a degree of understanding about the decisions I wanted to make around my own life. It hurts because of how much I’ve put into the club over the course of 20 years and the sacrifices I made for the club during that period. So of course it hurts, but I understand the disappointment. I even understand anger expressed through booing.”
