​Mail: Mourinho Doesn't Trust Alexander-Arnold's Defending; Won't Entrust Him with Big Games at Real Madrid

October 25 – English media outlet Daily Mail has published a column ahead of El Clásico, discussing the current situation of Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Here is the article:

In the debate over whether Trent Alexander-Arnold's talent has faded, there is a harsh reality: in Madrid, no such debate exists. While we are still searching for answers, in Spain, nobody cares about the topic.

Sunday brings El Clásico, a match that dominates the Spanish media's pages and discussions, but this week's coverage barely mentions Alexander-Arnold. He is now merely Real Madrid's third-choice right-back, hardly a marquee star for the Galácticos.

And we are still asking what happened to this once-highly-touted player and where he goes from here. Six years ago, I was talking to Cafu about Brazil and the World Cup, and Cafu brought up Alexander-Arnold unprompted.

"He can take the right-back position to a whole new level," said the greatest right-back in football history. "I think because of Alexander-Arnold, the way people think about full-backs is changing. It shouldn't just be strikers who can compete for the world's best player. It's not fair that some excellent players miss out on the Ballon d'Or simply because of their position. In the modern game, full-backs should be central protagonists."

For a while after that, Alexander-Arnold did exactly that. He was considered a Ballon d'Or candidate and was named among the world's top 25 players in 2022. In the summer of 2025, he moved from Liverpool to Real Madrid, and at least in England, many expected his outstanding talent to blossom again.

But in Madrid, no such expectation ever existed. Mourinho has been cold towards the Liverpool-born player, somewhat similar to how Thomas Tuchel uses him for England. Successive managers seem more inclined to see his shortcomings than the attacking brilliance that once dazzled, and Mourinho is already his third head coach at the Bernabéu.

Terry Gibson, who played for Wimbledon and Manchester United and has twenty years of experience covering La Liga, will commentate on El Clásico for LaLiga TV this week. He predicts Alexander-Arnold will be on the bench.

"He was never treated as a marquee signing. When he first arrived, everyone assumed Carvajal would start ahead of him when fit. After Carvajal left this summer, Madrid signed Dumfries. And now the bigger variable is that Mourinho has converted midfielder Valverde into a right-back."

"I was struck by last Sunday's match. Valverde started, and later in the game Mourinho moved Militão to right-back. The camera showed Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold on the bench, looking at each other as if wondering when the right-back competition had become like this."

Now their competition is essentially for the backup spot behind Valverde.

"In my view, Mourinho set it up this way to keep his trusted captain consistently on the pitch," Gibson said. "That's Alexander-Arnold's situation right now. Real Madrid fans are indifferent to him. Whether he stays or leaves, plays or sits, nobody really minds — which is quite sad. What's more regrettable is that none of the top managers he's worked with have been able to fix his defensive weaknesses. He's 28 now, and that's hard to change significantly at this stage."

"He has actually produced some fine performances. On October 10 against Villarreal, I thought it was his best game in a Real Madrid shirt — his set pieces and long-range passing were excellent. But early in the second half, Mourinho took him off unnecessarily, and since then he's had few opportunities. He might play at home against weaker teams, but in big matches, you can't rely on him."

There are also voices supporting Alexander-Arnold, still focused on his attacking strengths. Sources in Spain say Mbappé enjoys playing alongside him. In Real Madrid's 4-0 home win over Málaga in August, Alexander-Arnold delivered a trademark cross for Mbappé to score, and the two combined smoothly in that move. But this also confirms Gibson's assessment: he is suited to lower-pressure matches, and in big games, coaches dare not entrust him with heavy responsibility.

On Alexander-Arnold's birthday this month, a Spanish media headline read: "Trent at 28, still unable to earn Mourinho's trust." Those familiar with Mourinho know that once his trust is lost, it is not easy to win back.

During the previous international break, Tuchel surprisingly called Alexander-Arnold up to the England squad, and Madrid-based AS commented at the time: "England activated the best version of Alexander-Arnold." But that was only a routine 3-0 home win over the Czech Republic; in the tough match against Spain, Alexander-Arnold did not feature.

Many suspect that part of Tuchel's reason for calling him up was to divert pressure from discussions about England's World Cup failure. His playing time for England is likely to be as limited as it is at Real Madrid.

Injuries have also continued to trouble him; statistics show he missed 23 Real Madrid matches last season.

"He missed a great opportunity," Gibson said. "If he had stayed fit, he had a real chance to make that right-back spot his own. It's not that he did anything wrong — at Real Madrid, he has faced neither fierce criticism nor much praise."

That conversation with Cafu now feels very distant. Right now, Alexander-Arnold needs to make a choice about his career, because Real Madrid's decision-makers may have already concluded he is not suited to this team.

Source: Daily Mail