"I grew up watching Messi" - Trent Alexander-Arnold's old comments on Barcelona go viral after Real Madrid unveiling

Trent Alexander-Arnold's old quotes about Barcelona and Lionel Messi have gone viral on social media following his Real Madrid unveiling. The former Liverpool defender had named the Catalan side as his favorite team apart from the Reds, but has since changed his stance.

In a video posted by Anfield Watch on X, Trent highlighted the similarities between Barcelona and Liverpool as the key reason why he liked the former. He went on to name Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi, along with Thierry Henry, as the players he grew up watching. He said:

"I'd say [my] favourite other team would be Barca. Yeah, I think they have they've got kind of the same values and beliefs as Liverpool. They like to bring players through the academy. I grew up watching Messi in that special Barcelona team with Iniesta, Xavi [and] Henry."

The post has since garnered almost 250 reposts and 1500 likes.

At his unveiling on Thursday, June 12, at Real Madrid, Trent named his new side as the only club he would have left Liverpool for in his career. He said (via ESPN):

"It was never a question of where, it was whether to go or not to go. I've known for a long time, if I was to ever leave Liverpool it would only be to go to Real Madrid. That would be the only club for me."

Trent Alexander-Arnold has joined Real Madrid for a reported €10 million fee. He was set to move on a free transfer, but Los Blancos wanted him to play at the FIFA Club World Cup this month and thus paid a fee to sign the right-back a month before his contract expired.

Trent Alexander-Arnold confirms talks with Real Madrid star before move, but not about potential transfer

Trent Alexander-Arnold has confirmed that he held talks with Jude Bellingham but stated that they were never about him moving to Real Madrid. He claimed that the midfielder did not play any role in his move and said (via ESPN):

"It wasn't exactly what people thought it was, but we spoke a lot about Liverpool and Madrid. You want to know what it's like, at the national team he's the only player who knew what it was like to be at Real Madrid. A lot of people think he played a huge part in coming here, but the club speaks for itself. It's not something you dream of, because it's almost something out of reach, out of reality for most players. It's only a handful of English players who've played for Real Madrid ... I've played for the biggest team in England, and now the biggest team in Spain."

Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be able to wear the number 66 at Real Madrid due to LaLiga rules. He has picked 12 as his new jersey number, previously used by Marcelo and Eduardo Camavinga.