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Trent Alexander-Arnold STARTS for Real Madrid as England defender makes long-awaited debut for Spanish giants in Club World Cup clash after leaving Liverpool

Trent Alexander-Arnold STARTS for Real Madrid as England defender makes long-awaited debut for Spanish giants in Club World Cup clash after leaving Liverpool

Daily Mail​2 days ago

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been named in Real Madrid's starting XI as he makes his long-awaited debut for the Spanish giants.
Madrid kick off their Club World Cup campaign against Al-Hilal at Inter Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, the home of Lionel Messi, on Wednesday evening.
Alexander-Arnold, simply known as Trent on the back of his Madrid shirt, is playing in his first club game since he ended his 20-year association with boyhood side Liverpool.
The right-back has chosen the number 12 shirt and wowed supporters with his fluent Spanish at his unveiling last week.
Los Blancos paid Liverpool £10million for the defender despite his contract expiring, so that they could guarantee his involvement in the Club World Cup.
They will hope that the Englishman, who has signed a six-year deal, can spearhead them to a sixth title, having last won it in 2022.
Real Madrid paid Liverpool £10m so they could secure the defender's services a month early
On Monday, the 26-year-old spoke for the first time about how he is adapting to life as a Galactico and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr.
'Hot to start with but a good session with some good things,' he told the club's website.
'[It was] good to get a feel of the ball and a feel of the heat training in this climate so it was a good session.
'[It was] high quality. The ball moves very fast. Obviously it's a lot different to what I'm used to in terms of the players and the style of play but it's good and I'm enjoying the change and I'm enjoying being a part of it. It feels really good and I'm happy to be here to be honest.'
Before his unveiling as a Real player at the Bernabeu last week, Alexander-Arnold embarked on a tour of the club's facilities, where he was even shown some of the club's recent Champions League trophies.
Wednesday's fixture also marks Xabi Alonso's first game as Madrid boss after taking over from Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid lifted the Club World Cup trophy three years in a row between 2016 and 2018 and begin the tournament against Saudi side Al-Hilal.
The Riyadh-based outfit finished second in the Saudi Pro League and boast Joao Cancelo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in their squad.
They appointed Simone Inzahgi, who led Inter Milan to the Champions League final less than three weeks ago, as manager earlier this month.
Madrid will face Mexican side Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg as they look to top their group.

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