La Liga

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD to Real Madrid feels like a tale as old as time.The names and the methods of recruitment change but the siren song of the Bernabeu remains the same.Trent Alexander-Arnold is being heavily linked with a move away from AnfieldCredit: AlamyAnd it is as powerful as ever.From Laurie Cunningham — the first Englishman to play for the club in the professional era — to David Beckham, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, the lure of the famous white shirt has often proved irresistible to the biggest stars for almost 50 years.Some players have stayed out of the clutches of Real and their infamous president Florentino Perez.Steven Gerrard, Alexander-Arnold’s predecessor as Liverpool’s homegrown hero, revealed that Real wanted him to “start a war” to force his way out of Anfield in 2010.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLGerrard didn’t.But others have found themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.Luis Figo did not really want to leave Barcelona in 2000 but the money and machinations of Perez made it happen.And when someone wants to join Real as much as they want to sign him — as the club’s media mouthpieces in Spain claim is the case with TAA — a deal feels all but inevitable.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSWhether Liverpool fans like it or not, Real Madrid Club de Futbol are one of the few sporting institutions to have a more glorious history and more glamorous present than the Anfield club.The 15 European Cups alone put Real out on their own as football’s most successful club.Roy Keane says ‘looked like he’d never played right-back’ in savage criticism of England star Trent Alexander-ArnoldAnd the financial clout which comes from being one of the most recognisable brands in the world enables them to meet the salary expectations of the best players in the world.Yet the attraction of Real goes beyond mere numbers.They have an aura, a magic that has rarely waned in the era when football has become a truly global game.At different times, Manchester United and Barcelona have been the go-to clubs for the creme de la creme.But with both enduring difficult times right now the Bernabeu is where players like Alexander-Arnold, 26, want to go.And as Mbappe proved, when you are a talent in demand, you can choose your own adventure. That was not the case when Cunningham left West Brom for Real in 1979.Even if the England winger had not wanted to leave, the offer of £950,000 was not one that the Baggies would have been prepared to turn down.Kylian Mbappe poses with Florentino PerezCredit: GettyLaurie Cunningham was the first Englishman to play for Real MadridCredit: PABack then the big Spanish and Italian clubs could pay transfer fees and, in particular, wages that were beyond the reach of most, if not all, English sides.The Bosman ruling of 1995 — which allowed players to leave clubs at the end of their contracts without a transfer fee being paid — altered the balance of power between clubs, players and agents.Steve McManaman was the first big Premier League star to take advantage of the freedom to sign a pre-contract agreement with a major foreign club when he agreed to join Real in 1999.McManaman signed the deal in January but declined to pose in a white shirt out of respect for Liverpool.But when necessary, Real — and Perez — have been prepared to force the issue.The club were Champions League holders when Perez went up against Lorenzo Sanz for the presidency in 2000.Launching an aggressive new recruitment policy — starting with the signing of Figo from bitter rivals Barcelona — was his campaign promise.So when Perez won a surprise victory, Figo found himself crossing Spanish football’s great divide for a world record fee of £52million rather than signing an improved deal at the Nou Camp.Luis Figo controversially quit Barcelona for the BernabeuCredit: EPASteve McManaman quit Anfield for Real MadridCredit: ReutersIt was the start of the Galactico era that gathered Zinedine Zidane, Beckham and other big names in a star-studded squad.Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate followed from the Premier League — they fell short of the sky-high expectations, as did the trophy haul and Perez left in 2006.But since his return in 2009, Real have got plenty of bang for their buck.Cristiano Ronaldo arrived that summer from Manchester United for £80m — another world-record fee at the time — and went on to become the greatest goalscorer in the club’s history by rattling in a sensational 451 goals in his 438 matches in all competitions.To keep Ronaldo sweet, the £86m Real paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 was under-reported.But the overall message was clear… even as the Premier League’s financial power was growing and growing, Real could still get their man.Cristiano Ronaldo completed a seismic, world record £80m move from Man UtdCredit: AP:Associated PressGareth Bale left Tottenham for Madrid in 2013Credit: APLuka Modric and Eden Hazard are just two other examples of star players who left England for Real.The cash gap between LaLiga and the Premier League is why Perez continues to campaign for a European Super League.In the meantime, he and chief scout Juni Calafat are following a hybrid transfer policy.Real moved quickly to snap up young talent like Vinicius Jr, with a deal in place months before he turned 18 in 2018.Endrick was still only 16 when he signed an agreement to move to the Bernabeu last summer when he hit 18.Calafat also keeps an eye out for experienced, top-level players available for nothing — like Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba.And when big money needs to be spent on the hottest talent, Real spend it, as they did when laying down an initial £88.5m for Bellingham last year.Real forked out for Jude Bellingham 18 months agoCredit: GettyReal Madrid snapped up Vinicius Jr as a teenCredit: ReutersSignificantly, though, other clubs — including Liverpool — could have matched that fee and the young England star’s financial package. But Bellingham wanted Real.Last summer, one of the most tedious transfer sagas in football history ended when Mbappe finally joined Real.The France captain, 26, resisted Paris Saint-German’s attempts to offload him to Saudi Arabia and ran down his contract before moving to the Bernabeu with a signing-on fee of £128m to be paid over five years on top of his £13m annual salary.Again, a handful of other clubs might have been able to do a similar deal.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut Mbappe was determined to put on that famous white shirt.If Alexander-Arnold is of the same mind, then there is little or nothing Liverpool can do to stop it happening.Alexander-Arnold may have already made up his mindCredit: Alamy More