This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/NeoIsJohnWick on 2025-01-01 04:12:02+00:00.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker drew on his own experience of moving abroad to suggest that joining Real Madrid in the summer would be a good next step for Alexander-Arnold to take. The former Barcelona striker declared that the Liverpool right-back will “love it there”, and also noted the presence of close friend Jude Bellingham to make the transition smoother.
How do you say no to Real Madrid?" Lineker queried. "Liverpool is an incredible football club, but a fresh challenge, playing abroad, I did it myself. Playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona is truly special. However strong and powerful and rich the Premier League is, the world’s greats still go to Barcelona and Real Madrid. The only exception in recent times is [Erling] Haaland. That aside, they go there. [Alexander-Arnold] will love it there. It will be amazing. They’ll worship and appreciate his passing range. He is in the prime of his career.
“I wouldn’t begrudge him. It seems to make a lot of sense to me. Free transfer is how Real Madrid have done things recently. He is really close to Jude Bellingham and would fit in there beautifully. He would be a massive success. They wouldn’t focus on his defending critically as we do here… overly, in my opinion. It’s a great fit and would be a huge loss for Liverpool, but they have [Conor Bradley] coming through who has done really well. I think it is highly likely that will happen, although I have no inside information whatsoever.”