Trent Alexander-Arnold voices shock over Real Madrid welcome after Liverpool move

Trent Alexander-Arnold has confessed he was taken aback by the warm welcome he received at Real Madrid, expecting to be greeted by a more "intimidating" dressing room. The England star moved to Los Blancos at the start of Juneafter they forked out £10million to secure his services from Liverpool.

At first, the 26-year-old was going to move to the Spanish giants on a free transfer, but Real's eagerness to include him in their Club World Cup squad saw them pay the eight-figure fee to sign him a month early. He played the entire match of Real's 3-0 victory over RB Salzburg in their final group match, the first time he has done so since joining Xabi Alonso's side. Looking back on his feelings before his arrival, Alexander-Arnold has been pleasantly surprised by the warm reception and support from his new colleagues.

Following the win over the Austrian outfit, he told reporters: "Every player is impressing me. From when I played against Real Madrid, [I knew] all the players are world class. But just the way the lads are; when you come in, you expect it to be very intimidating, you don't know what to expect.

"But it was very warm, very welcoming, they made me feel at home straight away, which was amazing. It allows me to play as well as I can and today coming into the game, I was confident to go and perform.

"The settlement period now is done. It's about kicking on and being the best player that I can be and giving the best for the team and helping the team win as many games as possible starting with this competition."

The defender lifted two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the Club World Cup (in its previous format) and two League Cups at Liverpool. He also notched a remarkable 67 assists during his time at Anfield, a Premier League record for a defender.

Alexander-Arnold made a positive impression on his team-mates and fans by speaking in Spanish at his unveiling. However, he concedes that mastering the language remains a challenge.

He added: "Of course speaking and being a part of the conversation is harder. You work hard to try and understand what people are saying and be a part of it.

"But the manager speaks to me a lot individually to make sure I understand everything that gets said. The meetings are in Spanish so he goes out his way and the staff go out the way to make sure I understand the game plan. So there's differences but it's just football."

Real progressed to the competition's last 16 as group winners. They began the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, before defeating Mexico's Pachuca and then Salzburg. They will next face Juventus, who suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in their final group match, on 1 July.