Steve McManaman knows better than most what it takes for a British player to make the leap from Liverpool to Real Madrid.

The former winger spent the majority of his career at Anfield before becoming the first British footballer to sign for Real Madrid in 1999. 

He went on to win two Champions League titles and La Liga in Spain, giving him a unique perspective on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first steps in Madrid.

McManaman does not believe the England international has struggled to adapt as much as some have suggested. 

Instead, he points to the physical problems that disrupted Alexander-Arnold’s first season and believes the defender is now in a much better position to establish himself.

“He’s fine. I speak to him, and he’s fine. He’s settled in well. The problem is that he had a lot of injuries last year. That was the problem.

“He had physical issues, and the team weren’t at their best either. I think he should be fine this year.

“Although, again, it’s going to be tough against Barcelona. Barcelona have signed some good players. He played the other day and did very well. I don’t need to give Trent any advice.

“He knows what he has to do. He knows he has to learn the language, settle in and enjoy his life in Madrid. And he’s doing just that. 

“He’s got good friends there. I don’t think he’ll have any problems,” McManaman told SPORT.

Mourinho faces a different Real Madrid challenge

McManaman also addressed Jose Mourinho’s return to the Santiago Bernabeu. 

The Portuguese manager previously worked with a dressing room containing some of the biggest personalities in the game, and that experience could prove valuable again.

However, McManaman believes Mourinho’s success will ultimately be judged by whether Real Madrid can finish above Barcelona.

“Now he’s back to try and get the better of Barcelona. He needs to finish ahead of Barcelona. If he finishes ahead of Barcelona, it’ll be incredible. 

“If he finishes below them, it’ll be a disaster. He’s brought in several key players, but the most important thing is that he needs Kylian and Vinícius to play together and perform well. 

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

McManaman rejects Galacticos comparison

Having been part of the original Galacticos era, McManaman was also asked whether he sees similarities between that Real Madrid team and Mourinho’s current squad.

For McManaman, the defining difference is that his generation knew how to turn star power into trophies, without allowing individual status to undermine the collective.

“No. Because we were very good and we won everything. So no, I don’t think there are any similarities.

“Apart from having big names in the team, there’s no similarity whatsoever. We knew what we had to do. There were no egos.

“Everyone knew where they had to play. Vinícius wants to play there and Kylian wants to play there. That didn’t happen in our team.

“Figo played there, you played there… The most important thing is to be successful. To win. And if you win, nobody cares. Because you’re winning.

“If you lose, as you know, in Spain it’s a huge problem. So it doesn’t matter who you’ve got in the team. What matters is whether you’re successful or not,” he concluded.