Jamie Carragher is wrong about Trent Alexander-Arnold: Liverpool are a giant club but it doesn't get bigger than Real Madrid - it's an honour for another England player to join Los Blancos

This transfer saga has occupied Jamie Carragher's thoughts for a long time. And after previously making the questionable suggestion that Alexander-Arnold renew his Liverpool contract purely to ensure that his boyhood club received a transfer fee, Carragher accepted the nature of his departure. However, he was still left disappointed with the ultimate outcome.

"Where I’m at is that, as a local player and a Liverpool fan, Liverpool are in a position where they’re competing for the league and a European Cup every year. So, if you’re a Liverpool fan and a local player, I’m just disappointed that he doesn’t think that this is it," Carragher said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. "I’m putting myself in his position, where I’d be thinking that we could go level with Manchester United in league trophies, I’ve got another seven or eight years at Liverpool and want to get three or four ahead of them, with a couple more European Cups.

"We always talk about rivalries and never think of it as European. In some ways, Real Madrid is a rival, and no one will catch them – they are the biggest and most famous team- but I’m desperate for Liverpool to get second on that list – AC Milan are on seven [European Cup wins]. If I was him, I’d be thinking that we’ve got a great opportunity to win the league this year and could do this and that and at the end of his time, put Liverpool in a position [to top others]."

But Carragher is being a little naïve about Liverpool's current position. Yes, the Reds are on course to win a record-equalling 20th English league title and were only a penalty shootout away from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals. But no one expected them to have the season they are having when Arne Slot succeeded Jurgen Klopp and there is no guarantee that they will build another dynasty in the coming seasons.

Their incredible season has been built on the backs of three players in particular: Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai, two of whom could follow Alexander-Arnold out the door this summer when their contracts are up. Indeed, Carragher has claimed that there are four or five players Slot doesn't truly rate in his squad and believes the Dutchman has a big rebuilding job on his hands in the summer.

The fragility of Liverpool's long-term project was laid bare by their one-sided defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final. And let's not forget that their usual rivals have had disappointing seasons. Manchester City will surely be back next term after their dismal campaign and Arsenal are not going anywhere. Alexander-Arnold could have signed a long-term deal at Anfield only to be left disappointed.

The full-back has already had an incredible time with Liverpool, being a crucial part of the team that won the Champions League in 2019 and the club's first league title in 30 years in 2020, in addition to lifting the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Alexander-Arnold also played in two other Champions League finals, and the fact his side lost both of them to Real Madrid will not have been lost on him. Nor will the fact the Reds were knocked out of the competition by the Spanish giants in 2021 and 2023. Effectively, four of his seven Champions League campaigns with Liverpool have ended in defeat to Los Blancos.

So Alexander-Arnold knows better than anyone that going to Madrid will practically guarantee him winning the best trophies. Los Blancos have won six of the last 11 editions of the Champions League and lifted four La Liga titles in the same period, while Liverpool have won one league title and one Champions League crown.

It is not just trophies that Alexander-Arnold can look forward to at Madrid. He will be playing at the finest stadium in football, the renovated Santiago Bernabeu, and attract more eyeballs than at Liverpool as Los Blancos are regarded as the most popular team in the world, with the highest number of followers on the major social media platforms.

He will be able to count upon Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Thibaut Courtois as team-mates, as well as his dear friend Bellingham. Madrid's financial power, which has only been strengthened by the revenue opportunities from the upgraded Bernabeu, also means that they will continue to attract the best players around. And while Barcelona might be having a resurgence this season, the Catalan giants have deep financial problems, meaning Madrid are likely to be far more financially secure in the long run.

Alexander-Arnold is also more likely to be able to win the Ballon d'Or by moving to Madrid. Los Blancos boast eight winners of the most prestigious individual prize in football, more than any other club, with a total of 12 triumphs.

The player has made no secret of his desire to earn the historic prize. He told Sky Sports last year: "I want to be the first full-back to ever do it. It's only the morning after you retire that you're able to look in the mirror and say, 'I gave it everything I got'. It doesn't matter how many trophies you win, or how many medals you've got. It matters what you give to the game and if you reach your full potential."

Alexander-Arnold also stated in that same interview that he did not just want to be remembered as a successful player who won lots of medals. "A legend of football, someone who changed the game," he said. That is the main thing that I have - 'don't play the game; change the game'. I want that legacy of being the greatest right-back to have played football. I have got to reach for the stars and that's where I believe my ceiling can go."

Those comments were ridiculed at the time and after news of his move to Madrid broke, some Liverpool fans online mocked the fact he had said he wanted to win the Ballon d'Or over the World Cup. But his ambition should really be applauded. English players have often been criticised for their parochial attitudes but Alexander-Arnold, like Bellingham, is part of an outward-looking new generation that sees the benefits of playing abroad.

While Liverpool fans will not like to admit it, the truth is that he is much more likely to have a bigger impact at Real Madrid than by staying on Merseyside. Playing with the very best players in the world will challenge him to raise his game even further. The fact he is likely to be fighting for the Champions League and Spanish title every season will also make him a better player.

The two players who have made the switch from Liverpool to Madrid, Steve McManaman and Michael Owen, have commended Alexander-Arnold for following in their footsteps. "If he does choose to go to Real Madrid and he does choose to forge a new adventure with a new language and a new lifestyle, all credit to him," said McManaman, who won two Champions Leagues - scoring in the 2000 final win over Valencia - and two La Liga titles in a four-year spell. "It is a fantastic opportunity for him, if he does go, and no doubt he will be a superstar there as well."

Owen had a disappointing, trophy-less spell at Madrid and missed out on winning the 2005 Champions League. He also burned his bridges with Liverpool in the process. But he believes Alexander-Arnold will be remembered far better than him and has urged him to make the move.

Owen said: "He’s been there, seen it, done it, won everything, got the t-shirt. He could retire at the club and be an all-time legend, he already will be an all-time legend. He can be sitting there thinking, I’ve done everything. I’ve achieved absolutely everything at my boyhood club. Who can deny me a chance to go and play for one of the biggest teams in the world, a new experience, a new country, new language, new weather, new food, new everything? And what a team."

Carragher never got an offer to move to Madrid and spent his entire career with Liverpool. But his best friend Steven Gerrard did get the chance to play for Los Blancos. Gerrard, who also considered a move to Chelsea before opting to stay with Liverpool, is seen as the ultimate Liverpool servant, even though he was not a 'one-club-man' due to seeing out his career at LA Galaxy. But he told Carragher in 2020 that he often thinks about the decision to reject Madrid in 2010 when Jose Mourinho wanted to sign him.

"Maybe you look back and think: imagine playing for Madrid for a year or two," Gerrard told Carragher's The Greatest Game podcast in 2020. "Imagine going and playing for Mourinho in the Champions League - that would've been an unbelievable experience. Of course it would. But it didn't happen. Basically, Madrid wanted me to cause a war at Liverpool to get out. That was the only way that could've happened."

Alexander-Arnold is effectively taking the backlash from Liverpool fans that Gerrard wasn't willing to endure. It might be an uncomfortable few weeks for him but many Liverpool fans will know, deep down, that Madrid is the more attractive option and they will wish him well. Carragher has said the same.

He added: "The thing about Liverpool supporters being disappointed, you can get, but the disappointing thing for me is that everything is there for him to go on. What I hope doesn’t happen is this resentment carries on and hoping he does't do well at Real Madrid – I love people from my own city doing well, and he’s playing for the biggest club in the world. Once he’s gone, I’d love him to do well."

Carragher's fellow Stick to Football pundit Roy Keane has spoken of his regret at not playing for a top European club, having received offers from Juventus, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at different moments in his career. He said last year on the podcast: "I definitely should've gone abroad. I had opportunities to play abroad. I should've been brave enough to have gone over and played in Italy or Germany or Spain, and I had the opportunity."

Alexander-Arnold is not going to waste that same opportunity, and good on him. And while there is understandable sadness in Liverpool about one of their best homegrown players leaving, there should be pride at Madrid wanting to sign one of their own. English football fans should also be celebrating his imminent arrival in Spain.

England have often fallen short at tournaments due to a lack of creativity and the fact that nearly all of their players played in the same league was surely partly to blame. However, the Three Lions squad rocking up at the 2026 World Cup will boast a striker and captain from Bayern Munich in Harry Kane, plus two star players from Real Madrid in Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold. Conor Gallagher and Kyle Walker could join them after broadening their horizons with Atletico Madrid and AC Milan.

English football used to be seen as parochial and arrogant but now the best clubs in the world want to sign English players. That is a sign of how far the English game has come in the last few years. Rather than disappointment, the overriding feeling around Alexander-Arnold's next move should be one of pride. From next season the world's greatest club will have two England players among their ranks. What an honour.