Rafa Benitez reveals there’s something people ‘don’t know’ about his time at Liverpool with Trent Alexander-Arnold

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Liverpool are edging ever closer to losing three of their star players at the end of the season.

With barely a third of the campaign left to play, it isn’t looking good for Reds supporters regarding their out-of-contract trio.

In terms of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the news has been forecast to be bad for quite some time now. The Liverpool academy graduate appears even less likely than Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk to pen new terms at Anfield.

Should he leave Liverpool, then it seems virtually guaranteed that Alexander-Arnold will be on his way to Real Madrid.

As someone with experience of both clubs, former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is well placed to give a balanced perspective on what the future should hold for Trent.

And in doing just that, Benitez also revealed something people ‘don’t know’ about his time with the Reds.

Rafael Benitez shares Trent Alexander-Arnold experience

As he left the club when Alexander-Arnold was just 11-years-old, there was no way for Benitez to have ever utilised the Scouser in his first-team Liverpool squad.

Given some of the options the Spanish coach had to deal with at right-back, he would no doubt have loved that option.

Nevertheless, Alexander-Arnold has been with the Reds since he was six, more or less exactly the time Benitez came onboard in 2004.

And, as a result, while the Spaniard does not appear to have any specific memories of Trent, he has told Sky Sports that the work he did while at the club laid the pathway for the No.66 to emerge.

READ MORE: Ryan Babel delivers scathing assessment on former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez

“I will tell you something that maybe you don’t know,” teased the 64-year-old. “When I renewed my contract with Liverpool one of the things that we did was to be in charge of the academy, because we were not in charge of the academy.

“He was one of the young players who was coming through at this time when we changed the structure.

“But he was too young for me, I didn’t follow him,” admits Benitez. “But he was part of it with Frank McPartland when they changed the structure with Pep Segura. He was one of the young players who came in with a way to do things.”

Benitez weighs in on Alexander-Arnold future

Having come through as a youth player and coach at Real Madrid before going on to manage the first-team, Benitez is a fan of the Spanish giants.

And with Alexander-Arnold’s future hanging in the balance, the Champions League-winning boss says the 26-year-old is in the middle of a win-win situation.

“He has a love for Liverpool but as a professional you have to make decisions and it could be good for him if he goes,” he says. “But if he stays it will be perfect for him and for Liverpool, but it’s up to him.”

“Real Madrid is an attacking team,” adds Benitez. “They are the best team in Spain and they will always be there.

“For an offensive defender in an offensive team you have more chances to make assists. He’s doing that in Liverpool so it’s not a surprise but with Real Madrid you can guarantee he will do that for years.”