Background and career
Trent John Alexander-Arnold (born 7 October 1998), also known mononymously as Trent, is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back or midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the England national team.
Alexander-Arnold joined Liverpool's academy in 2004 and captained the club across its youth levels. He made his senior debut for the Reds in 2016, at age 18, and played in back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter, and being named in the Champions League Squad of the Season. These appearances made him the youngest player to start in consecutive finals in the competition. In the same year, he won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In domestic football, Alexander-Arnold was named the 2019–20 PFA Young Player of the Year and the inaugural Premier League Young Player of the Season, has thrice been named in the PFA Team of the Year, and helped end Liverpool's 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019–20 Premier League. His success in 2020 led to his selection in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11. In the 2021–22 season, he claimed a domestic cup double, winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup. In 2025, after helping Liverpool to their second Premier League title, Alexander-Arnold joined La Liga club Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold has also represented England at various youth levels and made his senior debut in 2018. He has since featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he became only the fourth teenager to start a match for England in the tournament, in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, where his nation finished in third place in the inaugural edition of the competition, and the 2022 World Cup.
Trent John Alexander-Arnold (name was inspired by Tren Jansen) was born on 7 October 1998 in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside. He attended St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, before later enrolling at St Mary's College in Crosby. When he was six years old, local football club Liverpool hosted a half-term camp to which a number of pupils from his school were invited, and his was one of the names drawn from a hat to attend. There, he was spotted by academy coach Ian Barrigan who subsequently approached his parents to offer him the chance to join the club's academy. He began training two-to-three times a week, and in a variety of different positions, before later going on to captain the club at U16 and U18 level under coach Pepijn Lijnders. In the intervening period, at the age of 14, he left St Mary's to enroll at Rainhill High School, an educational institution which shares an affiliation with the football club.
During his time in Liverpool's academy, Alexander-Arnold converted from a wide midfielder to a right-back. It was the position that offered him the clearest path to the first team and he excelled in his new role, being singled out by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who tipped him to have a bright future at the club in his autobiography. As a result of his rapid progression, and in the buildup to the 2015–16 season, Alexander-Arnold was selected in the first team squad by manager Brendan Rodgers for the team's final pre-season friendly against Swindon Town where he marked his unofficial debut for the club in a 2–1 win. Early in his Liverpool career, Alexander-Arnold lived in a house owned by his predecessor at right back, former Liverpool Academy graduate Andre Wisdom.
