While Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s proposed switch to Real Madrid is set to be as a free agent, Liverpool could still land a transfer fee for their outgoing vice-captain.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract with Liverpool expires on July 1 and the right-back is now on the verge of agreeing a deal with Real Madrid.
It has been the source of much controversy throughout the season, coming to a head this week amid widespread reports that an agreement is close, and a large part of that is due to Alexander-Arnold leaving on a free.
• READ: Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid: A legacy-changing decision
But Liverpool could stand to bring in at least a small fee for their No. 66 if he does opt to leave for Real this summer.
That comes with Real taking part in the expanded Club World Cup and the Spanish side wanting to include Alexander-Arnold in their squad for the 32-team tournament.
The issue is that the Club World Cup runs from June 14 to July 13, meaning Real’s group stage clashes with Al-Hilal, Pachuca and Salzburg will be held while the right-back is still under contract at Liverpool.
Real would therefore need to negotiate a payout with Liverpool if they are to release Alexander-Arnold from his contract early.
This may simply be a case of buying out the final month of his contract, which would be worth in the region of £800,000 to £1 million, but there is certainly a case to argue that the Reds could demand more on top.
Liverpool would have no obligation to allow Alexander-Arnold to join another club before July 1, and Real’s offer of £20 million in the January transfer window could be taken into consideration.
The Mail‘s Lewis Steele reports that Real are “extremely keen for Alexander-Arnold to play in the tournament if he ends up signing for them.”
That would play into Liverpool’s hands as they no doubt take a hardline approach to negotiations which will naturally be under strict time constraints.
FIFA announced on Wednesday that the prize money for the summer’s tournament would be worth up to $125 million (£96.9m) for the winners.
Clubs are permitted to register new players for the Club World Cup between June 1 and 10, while additional changes can be made during a second window between June 27 to July 3.
• READ: Alexander-Arnold to Real: What Steve McManaman and Michael Owen said
Interestingly, even if Real were unable to reach an agreement with Liverpool and instead sought to register Alexander-Arnold for the quarter-finals which begin on July 4, they would still need permission from LaLiga and the Premier League.
That is due to the transfer window not being officially open for either league, though that is likely to be more of a formality than any talks with Liverpool.
