Arne Slot has aimed a dig at Real Madrid and their preference for signing players on free transfers, agreeing with ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The reigning Champions League look set to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free this summer, having run down his contract at Liverpool.
Earlier this week, Wenger told beIN Sports that this transfer has been in the works for a “long, long time,” saying it’s typical Madrid behaviour.
“Real Madrid contacted Alexander-Arnold a long, long time ago,” Wenger claimed.
?? “Real Madrid approached him a long, long time ago…”
Trent Alexander-Arnold ?? Real Madrid
Arsene Wenger, @marceldesailly and @CrosbyNicky discuss the right-back’s move.#RealMadrid #LFC pic.twitter.com/v56uYdNIEU
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 6, 2025
“Big clubs do this. Two years before the end of the contract, they tell you: ‘We want to sign you, we’ll give you this salary, and we’ll try to make an offer to your club.’
“If it doesn’t work out, they come back next year, and if not, they’ll sign you for free. That’s what they did with Mbappe.”
Now, Slot has weighed in on the topic in his pre-Arsenal press conference, agreeing with Wenger and aiming a sly dig in the direction of Madrid.
“You cannot deny that this happens a bit more than it did in the past. But it’s not that it happens a lot,” Slot said.
“If my memory is correct, I think it happens mostly with a certain club that brings free agents in, and you don’t see it that much at other big clubs…yet.
“But I cannot predict the future, so I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it happened a few times now, but I also see a lot of players moving for big transfer fees in every single window in the last three, four or five years.
“So, it could be a Trent…trend. Funny word, by the way.
“But let’s wait and see if that’s going to happen yes or no, I don’t know. I can’t predict the future.”
It certainly feels like this is a tactic by Madrid, persuading potential signings to run down their deals and join them on free transfers, earning a healthy signing-on fee in the process.
Alexander-Arnold and Kylian Mbappe are the most obvious recent examples, and both Wenger and Slot’s remarks hint at the La Liga giants using their power to bully others.
It’s certainly easy to dislike them these days!
