Liverpool airport fires brutal dig at Trent Alexander-Arnold as Real Madrid star prepares to start new chapter at Club World Cup with Los Blancos

The Merseyside airport pointed out that when Alexander-Arnold flew to Spain's capital for his unveiling last week, he didn't actually board a plane in Liverpool. He departed from rival city Manchester instead.

The post from the airport's official X account, which quoted Alexander-Arnold's video upload of him leaving for Spain on a private jet, has been viewed over one million times. The post has also been edited, with the original version finishing with a snake emoji, leaning into the fan narrative that he has betrayed his hometown club. The edited version of the post replaced the snake emoji, with it clearly being seen in hindsight as going too far.

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John Lennon Airport has the facility for private jet transport, but Manchester is the north west of England's biggest and busiest airport by far. In the UK, only London Heathrow and London Gatwick handle more passengers than Manchester annually, flying almost 31 million people in 2024, more than six times as many as John Lennon did.

Having been able to join Real Madrid three weeks sooner than planned due to the club's willingness to pay Liverpool a fee, and FIFA's mini early transfer window, Alexander-Arnold could make his debut for Los Blancos this week. The Spanish giants open their Club World Cup campaign against Al Hilal on Wednesday.