Trent Alexander-Arnold named at centre of bizarre Real Madrid plot | OneFootball

There was controversy in Spain over the weekend - as Trent Alexander-Arnold made his long-awaited return from injury.

The 27-year-old is experiencing a nightmare first season at Real Madrid - frequently on the sidelines due to various knocks and strains.

And when the Englishman has managed to fight his way into the Madrid starting XI he hasn’t always shown his best form.

But he made his first appearance since early December in Real’s 2-0 LaLiga victory over Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday.

Trent appeared as a substitute for the closing stages - replacing novice David Jimenez at right-back. The 21-year-old former academy player was given a start ahead of Trent and his fellow right-back Dani Carvajal.

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The 34-year-old veteran - who is out of contract in the summer - has provided stiff competition to Trent in his maiden Madrid season.

His own ambitions for the campaign were scuppered by a bad knee injury but he has generally been fit enough to be in the matchday squad since the beginning of 2026.

But Carvajal’s only minutes this calendar year came in the closing stages of the Copa del Rey disaster against Albacete and in the Champions League against Monaco.

He had to watch on as Federico Valverde filled in as an emergency right-back and insult was added to injury when Jimenez started ahead of him at the weekend.

Carvajal not happy with squad role

According to various reports in the Spanish press Carvajal didn’t take too kindly to his demotion. And a report in El Nacional is claiming that Carvajal believes fit-again Alexander-Arnold is behind the plot to keep him out of the team.

Trent moved to Madrid on a bumper £280k per week package and a sizeable signing-on fee. It is believed that he received guarantees from club president Florentino Perez that he would be a key member of the team.

But ex-manager Xabi Alonso saw fit to drop Trent in favour of Carvajal owing to the quality of his performances. And now with Alvaro Arbeloa in place as head coach Carvajal is of the opinion that Trent is plotting with the former Liverpool star to shore up his position.

Carvajal points finger at Trent

“The Spanish international believes there is someone behind his current situation, and that person is Trent Alexander-Arnold,” the report reads.

“Carvajal knows that the English star asked Florentino Pérez to guarantee him a starting position in order to commit to Real Madrid.

“Otherwise, he threatened to accept one of the other offers he had received from clubs like Bayern Munich and Manchester City, who also wanted to take advantage of the fact that his contract with Liverpool expired on June 30.

“And he was not at all pleased that Xabi Alonso favored Dani on several occasions.

“So, the number 12 shirt would have forced the club to leave out the 34-year-old veteran defender, in order to eliminate any competition for the starting position.

“This explains why Arbeloa has had to exclude him from the starting lineups.”

© Anfield Watch

Trent linked with Premier League return

The pathway to first-team football is expected to become much clearer next season for Alexander-Arnold as Carvajal will be out of contract. But that hasn’t stopped murmurings of a departure for the former Liverpool No66.

Manchester City and Newcastle are both reported to be interested in bringing him back to the Premier League - while Madrid media suggests that the club are prepared to move on from him at the end of the season.

Wesley of Roma and Bournemouth’s Alex Jimenez are both thought to be under consideration as long-term replacements.