2025-11-04 11:49:37
Xabi Alonso has implored Trent Alexander-Arnold to “enjoy” his return to Liverpool.
The Real Madrid full-back will return to Anfield for the first time since moving to Real on a free transfer this summer in Tuesday’s (04.11.25) Champions League clash between the two sides and Alonso has urged the player to embrace the experience despite uncertainity about how he will be received by the crowd.
Alonso – himself a former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder – told reporters: “We haven’t spoken about that precisely, but we have spoken about the team, the club.
“He has to have his own feelings and enjoy it his own way, so I am not going to say how he needs to feel.
“For sure his history is different from mine, he was born and bred in Liverpool, I remember him from a young age in the academy and then coming to the first team and winning the Champions League.
“So he needs to enjoy that moment because it is nice to be back and for him it is going to be nice.”
Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold laid a personal tribute at the temporary Anfield memorial for his former team-mate Diogo Jota – who died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva in July.
The England international wrote in a handwritten message: “My mate Diogo. You are so missed but still so loved. Yours and Andre’s memory will always live on. I smile every time I think about you and will always remember the great times we shared. Miss you mate, every day. Love Trent and family. Forever 20. YNWA.”
Alexander-Arnold is unsure about the reception he will get from Reds supporters but insists that his love for Liverpool will not change.
The defender told Prime Video Sport: “Whichever way I’m received is the decision of the fans. I’ll always love the club, I’ll always be a fan and be thankful for the opportunities and the things we achieved together. It will live with me forever. No matter what, my feelings won’t change towards Liverpool.”
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