Trent Alexander-Arnold accused of LYING in first interview after Real Madrid debut

Trent Alexander-Arnold gave a fluent address in Spanish during his Real Madrid unveiling and claimed he had been learning the language for three months, but John Obi Mikel believes he is not telling the truth

Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has accused Trent Alexander-Arnold of lying about how long he has been practicing Spanish after the new Real Madrid signing again said he had only been learning for a few months.

The England right-back left Liverpool at the end of the season and looked to be joining Madrid on a free transfer before the Reds managed to get a £10million fee for his services to register him at the Club World Cup.

Alexander-Arnold made his first appearance for the La Liga giants in Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal, starting at right back before being subbed off for Lucas Vazquez in the 65th minute.

The 26-year-old is hoping to make the best introduction possible at the Bernabeu after he impressed many with his address to the club, which was given completely in Spanish.

At the time, he said he had only been learning the language for around three months, and repeated those claims after speaking following his debut for his new club on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold makes underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid at Club World CupREAD MORE: Liverpool join Chelsea in transfer race for £43m star who ‘wants Anfield move’

On this occasion, rather than speaking in Spanish, he asked for the interview to be conducted in English, admitting he was a bit too tired for any more rapid translations.

Asked about how long he had been learning his new language, he said: “Not too long. A couple of months. It was something important that I had to do. I want to adapt and give myself the best start possible going to a new country, new city and new team.

“It is important to show the intent that I want to embrace the culture, immerse myself in it and try to adapt as best as possible.”

DAZN pundit John Obi Mikel wasn’t buying that though, with the ex-Chelsea midfielder saying: “He spent a couple of months learning Spanish, but I don’t agree with that…maybe a year!”

Alexander-Arnold has been hugely criticised by Liverpool fans, who have accused him of lacking loyalty to his boyhood club after being prepared to leave them for nothing – and suspicions he has been learning Spanish for a long period of time have done nothing to cool tensions.

He had to clarify his own comments at his press conference to ensure he did not ruffle any more feathers as he said: “This is very, very exciting for me, a day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time – by ‘waiting a long time’ I mean a couple of weeks, not years.”

Alexander-Arnold will now hope to feature in Madrid’s next two Club World Cup games against Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg, after admitting he was proud to make his debut for the iconic club.

“It’s an incredible day for me to make my Real Madrid debut,” he said. “It’s something almost every player dreams of so to be able to achieve it is huge for me.

“Of course, there’s some disappointment in there because we haven’t won the game. It’s disappointing not to win. But there were a lot of positives, especially in the second half.”

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