Slot says Alexander-Arnold ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest

Slot says Alexander-Arnold ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest
Asked if Alexander-Arnold would be staying at Liverpool beyond January, Slot only said: “I can tell you he is playing on Sunday, and hopefully he brings the same performances he brought in the past half-year. (AFP)
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Updated 03 January 2025

Slot says Alexander-Arnold ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest

Slot says Alexander-Arnold ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest
  • Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the European champions were reportedly rebuffed when they made an initial enquiry about Alexander-Arnold in late December

LIVERPOOL: Trent Alexander-Arnold is fully committed to Liverpool, manager Arne Slot said Friday, amid interest in the England right back from Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract with Liverpool expires at the end of the season so he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club if he wishes.
Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the European champions were reportedly rebuffed when they made an initial enquiry about Alexander-Arnold in late December.
Slot was asked about the defender’s situation in a news conference ahead of Liverpool’s match against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and he said he had had a conversation with Alexander-Arnold but would not divulge any details.
Asked if Alexander-Arnold would be staying at Liverpool beyond January, Slot only said: “I can tell you he is playing on Sunday, and hopefully he brings the same performances he brought in the past half-year.
“Because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. I see him on the training ground every day ... he is fully committed to us.”
Slot is sure Madrid’s pursuit of Alexander-Arnold isn’t affecting the defender.
“If it would destabilize players at Liverpool that other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem,” Slot said, “because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always, for 12 months long, will talk about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs.
“That happens so, so, so many times for our players, so if that destabilizes them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but the past six months.”
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk also are out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season.


Kyrgios targets ‘miracle’ Australian Open return after knee improves

Kyrgios targets ‘miracle’ Australian Open return after knee improves
Updated 06 November 2025

Kyrgios targets ‘miracle’ Australian Open return after knee improves

Kyrgios targets ‘miracle’ Australian Open return after knee improves
  • Kyrgios has played just five singles matches in the last three years because of multiple surgeries on wrist and then knee injuries
  • Kyrgios is due to face women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Dec. 28 in a rare “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match in Dubai

SYDNEY: Nick Kyrgios said Thursday his long-term knee injury had suddenly improved, giving him hopes of a “miracle” comeback in time for the Australian Open in January.

Kyrgios, 30, has played just five singles matches in the last three years because of multiple surgeries on wrist and then knee injuries.

“In the last month, I don’t know what it is. I was with my masseuse and physio last night and something really has changed with my knee,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios told the Australian Associated Press.

“It’s not swelling. It’s not feeling bad after a session.

“I don’t know whether to call it a miracle or anything, but my knee feels like it’s gotten younger by a couple of years.”

Kyrgios said he could not explain why, after months of struggling with rehabilitation, there had been such an unexpected and rapid improvement.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but something in it has gone, kind of allowed me to put three, four days of training together on court for an hour-and-a-half, two hours and be able to actually recover and then build on that,” said Kyrgios

“So that’s been really exciting and I haven’t really told anyone. I have a new lease on life on court.”

Kyrgios, whose ranking has slid to 652 in the world because of his inactivity, would need a wild card from organizers for the Australian Open.

He has not played since losing in the second round of the Miami Open in March.

Kyrgios is due to face women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Dec. 28 in a rare “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match in Dubai, organizers said this week.