Jude Bellingham's teammates were 'glad to see back of him' in warning to Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham

If Trent Alexander-Arnold has indeed had his head turned by Real Madrid, as widely believed, then the presence of his friend Jude Bellingham was surely one of the deciding factors.

But the Liverpool star may wish to heed previous warning signs that this on-pitch relationship might not be altogether fruitful.

As the weeks go by without any confirmation from Real Madrid, there is that slight seed of doubt that perhaps there is more to the situation than meets the eye.

If Alexander-Arnold is not leaving his boyhood club after all, he will be owed grovelling apologies.

But as things stand, he is expected to leave Anfield behind. He's not the first to be lured by the glitz of the Bernabeu, but it's hard not to hold Bellingham partially responsible for this particular transfer.

After all, it must have taken a lot to convince Alexander-Arnold that his future lay not at the club where he hoped to one day become captain, but in a foreign country where he will not have anything like the same star status that he enjoys at Liverpool.

Real Madrid's record in the Champions League is powerfully persuasive in its own right, but Bellingham surely added his voice into the equation.

The pair's close friendship is well-publicized. They dined together at a high-end restaurant last summer, and are regularly seen interacting around the England camp.

Yet while Alexander-Arnold might enjoy the company of Bellingham in an England jersey, there have been warnings that it might not be the same at club level.

Previous teammates of the midfielder have not always formed entirely positive impressions.

When Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund in 2023, Bild even claimed that his teammates were happy to see him leave. His departure was labelled "extremely beneficial for the dressing room atmosphere"

One bone of contention was Bellingham's apparent tendency to wait until after the team had thanked the fans before going over to claim applause for himself.

It's also suggested that he could be very harsh on his teammates, an opinion seemingly verified by a foul-mouthed incident with Nico Schulz that was captured on camera.

It would be wrong to present this without any kind of counterpoint, and Bellingham would certainly have every reason to feel aggrieved at this account.

It is an unfortunate reality that certain people have a tendency to try and sow discord and tear down those who have been successful, regardless of the facts.

And even if there is some truth to his lack of close bonds at Dortmund, Bellingham can certainly point to the downturn since he left as a major score in his favor.

If there is indeed a better team spirit now that he has left the Westfalenstadion, it has got his old club no higher than eighth in the Bundesliga.

Having said that, there are enough accounts of Bellingham to wonder about how easy it really is to play with him on a regular basis.

The whispers have followed him beyond Borussia Dortmund.

In the post-mortem after Euro 2024, The Athletic noted that Bellingham's bond with Alexander-Arnold was the exception rather than the rule.

Perhaps due to his unusual career path, he supposedly lacked strong connections with most of the rest of the squad.

Reading between the lines, it is probably at least fair to say that Bellingham is a massively driven individual, laser-focused on himself.

His "who else" celebration at the Euros painted a picture of a highly confident young player, albeit one capable of backing up his own hype.

If nothing else, Alexander-Arnold will need to adapt to not being the star of the show if he swaps Liverpool for Real Madrid as expected. Interpreted generously, Bellingham is a big character — a description which also applies to Kylian Mbappe, another player who is used to being high up in the Ballon d'Or standings every year.

Alexander-Arnold has talked about wanting to win that award for himself. But to paraphrase Jurgen Klopp's warning to Philippe Coutinho, he will soon need to get used to being just another player — if he cannot do that, then playing alongside Bellingham might be less like a dream, and more like a nightmare.