Trent Alexander-Arnold says the online abuse he continues to receive from Liverpool fans 14 months after leaving Anfield for Real Madrid still "hurts" — and that he hopes the fanbase will one day reach a degree of understanding about the decision he made to leave the club he grew up supporting.

The 27-year-old, speaking to the Mirror, was candid about the difficulty of navigating life as a former Liverpool man who now wears the white of Real Madrid. He insists he watches every Liverpool game and says the club will always hold a place in his heart, but the intensity of what lands in his notifications tells a different story to the goodwill he encounters when he returns to Merseyside.

Online versus in person

"Not a single interaction I've had in person reflects the sort of stuff you get online or via social media," Alexander-Arnold says, drawing a sharp distinction between the digital noise and the reality of walking the streets he grew up on.

He was booed on his return to Anfield in November when Real Madrid were beaten 1-0 in the Champions League, and he says he can shoulder that. What he finds harder to process are the messages that, in his words, "cross the line" and go beyond legitimate footballing grievance.

"The booing and disappointment from Liverpool supporters is something I'm absolutely able to shoulder. I can understand it, in my own way," he said. "But I hope one day there'll be a degree of understanding about the decisions I wanted to make around my own life."

He is clear, though, that he does not want his comments to be read as a blanket complaint. "This isn't me saying everyone in Liverpool is fine with me leaving the club — of course they aren't. But that's very different from the stuff that goes beyond the football."

A first season of disruption at the Bernabéu

Alexander-Arnold's debut campaign in Spain was not the seamless transition some had anticipated. He featured in 35 of Real Madrid's 62 matches across all competitions, a respectable tally yet short of the commanding presence the club will have envisaged when they brought the right-back — or midfield option, depending on Carlo Ancelotti's instructions — across from Liverpool.

Those who spent last summer wondering whether the move would prove the making or the undoing of his England career are now watching with interest as a new season begins and a new Madrid head coach takes the reins.

World Cup omission: 'I was properly gutted'

The sharpest professional pain of the summer was not the residual fan reaction but the phone call from Thomas Tuchel that ended his World Cup hopes. Alexander-Arnold had gone into the summer carrying genuine optimism that he would be on the plane.

"I'll be honest, I was full of hope," he said. "When I put the phone down, I was properly gutted. I hope the coaching staff would expect and understand that I was angry."

His last England cap came as a substitute in a 1-0 win over Andorra in June 2025 — his 34th overall — and he is adamant that will not be his final chapter in a Three Lions shirt. "Until I retire, I'm still an England player, whether I'm selected or not," he said. "He [Tuchel] wants players who are desperate to play for England. I am one of those."

The noises out of Alexander-Arnold's camp are that missing the World Cup has, if anything, sharpened his focus. He frames the disappointment as fuel rather than a full stop, and says his target for the season ahead is straightforward: play well enough at Madrid to force his way back into Tuchel's thinking.

Whether Liverpool fans eventually warm to the idea of their former academy product becoming a Bernabéu fixture is another question entirely. For now, Alexander-Arnold is learning to separate the online world from the real one — and, by the sound of it, getting better at it with every passing month.

Frequently asked

Why did Trent Alexander-Arnold leave Liverpool?
Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool at the end of his contract to join Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. He has said the move was about decisions he wanted to make for his own life, though he insists Liverpool will always have a place in his heart.
Did Alexander-Arnold go to the 2026 World Cup with England?
No. Alexander-Arnold was not selected for England's 2026 World Cup squad by manager Thomas Tuchel. He has said he was angry and gutted by the news, and is determined to work his way back into the squad.
How did Alexander-Arnold get on in his first season at Real Madrid?
He featured in 35 of Real Madrid's 62 matches across all competitions during his debut season in Spain — a solid if unspectacular return for a player settling into a new league and club environment.