For Trent Alexander-Arnold, the decision that he takes in 2025 will firstly define the rest of his career, but potentially the rest of his life too. And amid the wait for news on a new contract at Liverpool, the speculation remains rife.

The Spanish outlet MARCA has reported that Alexander-Arnold's mind is made up and that he intends to join Real Madrid. While Arne Slot — whenever he has been asked about it in public — has never wanted to comment on the situation, and the player himself has always wanted negotiations to take place behind closed doors, news one way or another is surely coming.

Early in 2025, Alexander-Arnold is going to have to make his decision. In just three days, he can freely speak with clubs abroad (Real Madrid being the obvious one) about a free transfer move and by the end of the season, his contract will have expired if nothing changes in the meantime.

READ MORE: Naby Keita offers brutally honest verdict of Arne Slot and Liverpool - 'wait and see'

READ MORE: I know what makes a Liverpool legend - Trent Alexander-Arnold would regret Real Madrid transfer

• I heard what Arne Slot said about Liverpool's contracts but I still can't shake biggest fear

• 5 crucial days could decide Liverpool's Premier League title fate in 2025

For all that Liverpool fans would assume that one of their own would like to stay with the club that is arguably the best in the world at the moment, there is a case for joining Real Madrid. The lifestyle and the weather there are much better, and there is something to be said for simply having a change of scenery and trying something new.

As Jamie Carragher has explained recently, though, it would be viewed differently if Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool for nothing compared to Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk. Both are in the same contract situation, of course, but neither are local players who came through the academy.

There is an expectation with Alexander-Arnold that he should stay, or at least that if he were to leave, he would bring in some funds to source a replacement. Rightly or wrongly, it would be framed differently from his peers, with the Reds' number 66 being one of Liverpool's own.

Steve McManaman won two Champions League titles in four years with Real Madrid when he left to move to Spain on a free. But his reputation among Liverpool fans took a hit when he departed and it has never been restored to the same extent. Alexander-Arnold would have to weigh up if that was something he was prepared to accept.

"Stay here [at Liverpool] and they will end up building a statue in your honor," Jurgen Klopp said, via Joe, in 2017. "Go somewhere else — to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid — and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more."

Then, he was speaking to Philippe Coutinho; the same logic applies to Alexander-Arnold, though. For all that there are appealing factors that make Real Madrid a club worth considering, so too are there for staying put.

Had Arne Slot coming in not gone so smoothly or if Manchester City was set to stroll to another league title, perhaps leaving Liverpool would be easier to explain. As it is, however, Alexander-Arnold has at least as much of a chance of winning the Champions League again where he is than at the Bernabeu.

Even so, as much as trophies are important, Alexander-Arnold has spoken often about his "legacy" and how he wants to be remembered in the game. In terms of how he is viewed at Liverpool — surely the group that matters the most to him — his imminent decision on where his future lies could see it swing one of two ways.

Klopp's words to Coutinho seem especially true now given that his exit didn't work out as planned. Even if that wasn't the case for Alexander-Arnold, as a local talent, the view of him on Merseyside would change.