Real Madrid are looking to agree a deal with Liverpool worth about £1m for 26-year-old England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to join them before the Club World Cup. (Football Insider)

It is always helpful to imagine how the actions of a footballer might be perceived in real life, away from the moral codes of the sport. After unpunished violent conduct in a pre-VAR age you would sometimes hear about “being arrested if you did that on the street”.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has confirmed he is leaving Liverpool — all that remains is for his move to Real Madrid to be rubber-stamped. But what will he be walking into at the Bernabeu? The general outlook at the club is looking a lot less positive than when the idea of joining Madrid on a free transfer began to take shape in April 2024.