Carragher: Alexander-Arnold Made a Mistake Joining Real Madrid

Jamie Carragher believes Trent Alexander-Arnold made "a big mistake" by joining Real Madrid and wants to see the England star back in a Liverpool shirt.

A product of the Liverpool academy who broke into the first team in the 2016-17 season, the star right-back joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2025 when his contract expired. Alexander-Arnold made 354 appearances in all competitions for the Merseyside club, winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups (EFL Cup), one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Alexander-Arnold holds the record for the most assists by a defender in Premier League history with 64, and his 82 direct goal contributions place him second only to Leighton Baines (85) in that category.

Although his decision to leave by running down his contract drew criticism from Liverpool supporters, Carragher argued that a return to his boyhood club would be the right move:

"I would definitely bring him back. He'll get a lot of criticism because I think he's made a mistake. I think he made a big mistake going to Madrid. As Liverpool, we are definitely missing his creativity. Right now he's third choice at right-back. They're playing a midfielder, Federico Valverde, in that position, and even in El Clásico the actual right-back, Denzel Dumfries, came on ahead of him. If you're third choice at a club, that clearly means they want you to leave."

Alexander-Arnold has played just 345 minutes in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, registering 1 assist in seven appearances, four of them starts.