Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold's Instagram post has Madrid fans DREAMING of Bellingham link-up

Jude Bellingham played a starring role in the Champions League final over the weekend, setting up the second goal in a 2-0 win for Real Madrid over his former club Borussia Dortmund. 

It capped off a dream-like first season in the Spanish capital for the English midfielder, who won the LaLiga title and the Spanish Super Cup in his first campaign for Los Blancos. 

He was also crowned the Spanish league’s footballer of the year following a stellar first campaign, in which he scored 19 goals in 28 outings. 

It’s no secret that Bellingham’s friends in the England camp include the Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is a Champions League winner in his own right. 

The 25-year-old was among the first to publicly congratulate Bellingham when he posted a celebratory picture to his Instagram account following the Wembley final. 

"1st of… Congratulations, brother," he wrote.

That message could be interpreted in many ways, not least speculating the significance of sending a public message when, presumably, Trent could have done so in private. 

What it has done is send the rumour mill into overdrive yet again. 

Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool contract has ticked into its final 12 months with no sign of a breakthrough on the horizon just yet. 

Madrid are long-term admirers of the English international, and sometime soon they will need a replacement for their own right back hero in Dani Carvajal. 

It’s been speculated that the 15-time European champions will make moves to sign Trent on a free next summer when his Reds’ contract elapses and have him join the likes of Bellingham and new signings Endrick and Kylian Mbappe. 

And following his message to Bellingham, Alexander-Arnold was INUNDATED with messages on his social accounts from Madrid fans pleading with him to join the club. Just scroll through the replies. 

Trent has sent Real Madrid hints

Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes has plenty of sorting out to do, given the state of Alexander Arnold’s contract and those of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. 

Chief among his duties will be keeping the Liverpool homegrown star out of Florentino Perez’s clutches. 

Worryingly for Reds’ supporters, Alexander-Arnold has described Bellingham as his best friend in football and wished he could invite Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane as his dream dinner party guests. 

Given the duo are now together for the European Championship preparations with the Three Lions, Bellingham might well attempt to seduce him into heading to the Bernabeu, much like those fans across social media this week. 

One day we dreamed about Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold lining up together for Liverpool as well as England. They might yet end up teammates at club level but there is more chance of Trent moving to Madrid than Bellingham now coming the other way.