Jamie Carragher has admitted he 'understands' why Trent Alexander-Arnold would want to join Real Madrid. The 26-year-old defender faces an increasingly uncertain future at Anfield, with his Liverpool contract set to expire at the end of the season.

Since the start of the new year, foreign clubs have been eligible to open pre-contract talks with Alexander-Arnold over a free transfer in the summer. Rather than cash in on the England international during the January transfer window, the Reds refused to be bullied into a sale.

Liverpool stood their ground, banking on Alexander-Arnold penning an extension. If he doesn't pen a new deal then he'll be free to leave at the end of June and the Reds won't be entitled to a compensation fee, missing out on millions.

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As it stands, it remains to be seen whether or not the right-back will extend his stay at Anfield. With the Santiago Bernabeu mooted as a potential destination this summer, Carragher 'understands' why Alexander-Arnold would want to join Real Madrid.

Speaking on The Overlap US, the Liverpool legend said: "I was at the Bernabeu the other week for a Champions League game. Coming from England as a kid, you’d always ask your parents for a Real Madrid or Barcelona kit, those were the glamour clubs for us.

"I was always Barcelona because Gary Lineker went there from Everton in the mid-80s. When I was speaking to the Spanish lads at Liverpool, they always saw Real Madrid as the club in Spain."

Carragher added: "I played at the old Bernabeu but when I stood in the new stadium the other week, I was thinking, 'this is the pinnacle'. I was almost thinking, I can understand where Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is coming from if he comes here!

"I hope he hasn’t seen this new roof! But seriously, every time we go to Tottenham we say that stadium is one of the best in the world but Real Madrid’s stadium is the best in the world. It is. It feels special when you’re on the side of the pitch."

Steve McManaman, who left Liverpool to join Real Madrid in July 1999, offered his verdict on Alexander-Arnold's future. In January, the Reds icon said: "I've listened, I've heard a lot of nonsense about the Trent situation in various papers, podcasts, whatever people need to sell, and of course they don't know the full story.

"If you keep commenting on every single situation nobody will end up listening to you," he added. "There is no gravitas to what you've got to say. You have to see how it pans out."