Real Madrid News
‘Not having him there is madness’: Former England international surprised by Real Madrid star’s World Cup snub
Earlier this week, Thomas Tuchel announced England’s final squad for the upcoming World Cup, and one of the biggest headlines was the omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Real Madrid right-back will not be travelling to the tournament, joining other notable absentees such as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester City’s Phil Foden.
Trent’s close friend and Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham, however, has been named in the squad.
Trent exclusion shocks Kyle Walker
Former Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker, currently playing for Burnley, delivered a strong response regarding Trent’s exclusion.
The 35-year-old right-back spent years alongside Trent in the England setup and retired in March earlier this year, when he was just four appearances short of reaching 100 caps for the Three Lions.
And the veteran star made it clear that he does not understand the decision from Tuchel to leave Trent out.
“A Real Madrid player not being included in the England national team is something unheard of,” Walker said on talkSPORT (h/t AS).
“Everyone talks about what Trent doesn’t do well. Talk about what he does do well! He’s probably the best right-back in the world when it comes to passing, crossing, assists, and then there’s his catalogue of big performances.”
“Not having him there is madness,” Walker concluded.
Trent out-of-favour under Tuchel
At 27 years old, Trent receives one of the toughest setbacks of his professional career. Having moved to Real Madrid from Liverpool last summer, the right-back finds himself completely frozen out of the national team picture by Tuchel.
He has 34 caps for England, in which he has scored four goals. He was part of the Three Lions’ World Cup squad in 2018 and 2022, as well as the UEFA Euro 2024.
However, the defender will miss out on the World Cup in North America this summer.
With the culmination of the summer transfer window a couple of weeks ago, La Liga has officially announced the salary cap for the teams in the first and second divisions of Spanish football for the 2026/27 season.
And, once again, Real Madrid have the highest salary cap, at €832 million, increasing from €761 million which was set in the summer of last year, setting a new record.
The salary limit is the maximum amount that the club can spend during the season after the operations carried out in the summer.
It includes the expenditure on players, the manager, and the coaching staff, along with the expenses on the reserve team, the youth academy, and the other sporting areas.
Real Madrid splurged the cash on six new signings this summer, bringing in Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Carlos Espi, and Marc Cucurella.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos bid goodbye to players like Dani Carvajal and Dani Ceballos, while a number of talented youngsters like Jacobo Ortega, Cesar Palacios, Gonzalo Garcia, among others, also moved on.
After Real Madrid, the next highest figures belong to Barcelona (€582.769 million, Atletico Madrid (€361.287 million), Villarreal (€170.564 million) and Athletic Club (€139.203 million).
