Sports
Alvaro Arbeloa Has Faith in Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid
One of the biggest transfer sagas of 2025 focused on the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The homegrown Liverpool star decided he would not renew his contract at Anfield, and instead moved to Real Madrid last summer.
It’s fair to say the decision did not go down well with many supporters, who felt the move was a huge betrayal. The right-back won the Premier League during his final campaign with the Reds, but things got so bad that famous fan and MMA star Paddy Pimblett even warned the Englishman that he wasn’t welcome at the trophy parade.
Alexander-Arnold is currently halfway through his first season in Spain, but has already seen manager Xabi Alonso depart. With Alvaro Arbeloa now calling the shots at Real Madrid, the local press have shared an interesting update on their relationship.
Arbeloa’s Behind-the-Scenes Treatment of Trent
Alexander-Arnold hasn’t exactly had the best of time in Madrid so far, with injury issues keeping him from finding his best form. He’s played just 11 times in all competitions and is yet to score, picking up just one assist.
In December, there was even talk that he could leave for a cut price with Manchester City, Manchester United, and Newcastle among the teams keeping an eye on the situation. However, with Arbeloa now in charge, it doesn’t seem as though that is likely.
As per the Spanish publication AS, there is no truth to any reports that the Spanish manager doesn’t like Alexander-Arnold or that he will be looking to offload the defender. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Englishman is said to have received assurances from the club from the moment he suffered his most recent injury setback against Athletic Club in early December.
The report even adds that the new boss has also been supportive in recent weeks, which speaks volumes about Arbeloa’s faith in the 27-year-old coming good. Indeed, it’s claimed that Arbeloa has been looking after the player during his recovery, hoping to potentially get him back into action this weekend against Valencia.
The English defender has been back in training this week, having missed the last seven La Liga matches with a muscle tear.
|
Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid 2025/26 |
|
|---|---|
|
Games |
11 |
|
Starts |
7 |
|
Minutes |
497′ |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Assists |
1 |
Would Liverpool Look to Bring Alexander-Arnold Back to Anfield?
Before this latest news had put to bed the idea that Arbeloa and Madrid could be aiming to sell the right-back this summer, there was some talk about Liverpool’s potential interest in bringing him back to Anfield. However, that never seemed to be likely.
Even if he was put up for sale, the Reds reportedly have little interest in entering the race for his signature. The English outfit signed Jeremie Frimpong in the summer as a replacement, while they also believe in Conor Bradley. As such, they feel that a return for Alexander-Arnold would affect the squad plans that are already in place.
Having left only last summer, sparking such spectacular anger from many members of the Liverpool fanbase, it seems unlikely that either player or club would be keen on a quick reunion. The first half of his Madrid career has been patchy at best, but with Arbeloa’s apparent faith, and a return from injury close, perhaps a return in form is just around the corner for Alexander-Arnold.
Stats via Transfermarkt – as of 08/02/26
Sports
Donald Trump Hated Just One Thing About White House Show
Behind-the-scenes footage has emerged from the UFC‘s historic Freedom 250 card at the White House, revealing the one thing that President Donald Trump hated about the event.
Headlined by the UFC Lightweight Championship unification fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, the show was commissioned as a joint celebration of both the 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday. It even took place on June 14th, the day the President was born.
However, while Trump loved the show overall, calling it one of “the greatest ever” afterwards, there was one element of the event he really wasn’t happy with.
Donald Trump Was Furious About One Thing at UFC Freedom 250
With the fights taking place on the South Lawn of the White House, space was always going to be limited. Trump, though, seemingly wasn’t fully on board with the reality of just how limited the numbers would be.
In footage shot before the event, Trump told a crowd of reporters: “We’ll have an arena of 8,000 [people]” watching the event live.
Wanting somebody to back up that number, the President bellowed: “Where are the UFC people?”
When UFC Executive Producer Craig Borsari made himself known to Trump, he had some bad news to share with the controversial politician.
UFC Fans Calling Out Donald Trump After He Makes Huge White House Card Announcement
The POTUS’ announcement has been met with serious questions from UFC fans.
Telling Trump he could have less than a third of his desired attendance, Borsari noted:
“Right now, the current infrastructure that we have is only about 2,500 [people].”
Trump couldn’t hide his frustration at the number as he fumed: “That’s terrible!”
Sensing the President’s anger, Borsari reasoned: “But, we can go a level up, and start to get into the 3,500 range?” If he had hoped to fully satisfy Trump with the extra 1,000 seats, it didn’t work.
“Oh, but you say you’re not talking about the six or seven thousand,” he replied in an annoyed tone.
Trump later voiced his own ideas for expanding the capacity of the event. In a sit-down interview, he stated:
“My concept was right, smack at the front door of The White House. Build it as big as you can. You know we’re a little confined because of trees and these beautiful plantings and everything else, so not easy.”
What Donald Trump Told UFC Staff Before White House Show
Trump appeared to give Borsari full permission to do whatever he saw fit to make the request a reality.
“You can build it as big as you want, there’s no problem.”
In reality, on fight night, Borsari managed to make room for an estimated 4,300 attendees. No tickets were sold to the public, with the majority of those in attendance being either invited guests or military personnel.
Trump may not have got his way in terms of a larger attendance at the White House itself, but the company did manage to accomodate 80,000 spectators at the Elipse in the shadow of the venue.
As impressive as that number is, though, it’s clearly not quite what Trump really wanted.
Sports
Tottenham Pull Out of Move to Sign ‘One of the Best’ Midfielders
Tottenham Hotspur have been incredibly active in the transfer window so far this summer, but they have now pulled the plug on one deal according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Spurs have already brought in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka on free transfers, while they also signed Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and broke their club-record to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham in an £85m deal.
The club also agreed a £100m deal to sign Newcastle star Sandro Tonali this week, cementing their ambitions to climb up the table after back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, but they have now backed out of a deal for another signing.
Tottenham Pull Out of Move to Sign Palhinha
Tottenham are pushing to strengthen their squad, and new manager Roberto De Zerbi had previously stated that he wanted the club to retain Portugal international Joao Palhinha as part of the squad following his loan spell in 2025/26.
The holding midfielder was described as ‘one of the best’ by the Italian coach, and had made a return to north London his priority for this window despite having agreed terms with Sporting CP over a potential move, with Bayern Munich desperate to cash in on a permanent deal.
But after completing a deal for Fernandes and agreeing terms over a move for Tonali, Spurs have now pulled the plug on any return.
“Joao Palhinha is set to return to FC Bayern for now,” Plettenberg wrote. “The Tottenham deal is now 100% off following the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
“A possible move to Sporting is also complicated due to Bayern’s asking price. There are further interested clubs. Talks are ongoing.”
Tottenham Make Right Decision
Palhinha proved what everyone already knew last season with his performances. The 30-year-old is a strong defensive player, who covers ground well, but has limitations with his passing.
The fact that he scored the goals that ultimately kept Spurs in the Premier League may have made the sentiment of keeping him at the club difficult to ignore, but ultimately they have signed major upgrades on him now, and it makes sense to let him leave.
With Tonali and Fernandes joining the likes of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Pape Matar Sarr in the squad, there is no space for Palhinha and it makes sense to put that money towards strengthening other areas of the squad instead.
Tottenham Eyeing Move to Sign ‘Phenom’ Forward as ‘Astronomical’ Transfer Update Emerges
An update has emerged on another huge Tottenham transfer.
Sports
Egypt FA React to ‘Shocking’ Footage of Clash Involving Coach and US Police
The Egyptian FA have released a statement after ‘shocking’ footage of their team director, Ibrahim Hassan, clashing with US police in Dallas emerged.
Egypt are enjoying a fine World Cup. The Pharaohs opened up their campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw against Belgium.
They then won their first ever match at a World Cup as they defeated New Zealand 3-1, before drawing 1-1 with Iran to secure a second-placed finish in Group G.
Egypt’s reward for finishing second in their group is a last 32 tie against Australia, which is set to take place at Dallas Stadium on Friday, July 3.
However, there have been some ugly scenes involving police and Hassan ahead of the match.
Egypt Respond to Hassan’s Clash With US Police
In footage posted to social media, former Aston Villa ace Trezeguet can be seen signing a shirt and then posing for a selfie with a youngster when team director Hassan walks over to join him.
But tensions escalated when an individual with ‘Dallas Police’ on the back of his shirt made his way to Hassan to have words with him. After a brief exchange, the police officer appeared to shove Hassan backwards before shouting “Back off!” multiple times.
The two were quickly separated, with Hassan being dragged away by Trezeguet and other individuals present at the scene.
A source within the Egyptian national football team has spoken to Egypt Independent to explain exactly what happened. The source said:
“An altercation occurred between Ibrahim Hassan and a hotel security guard due to the organisers’ poor handling of the Egyptian fans. The fans were eager to take commemorative photos with the players, but security intervened aggressively. This angered Hassan, who stepped in to object to their harsh demeanor.”
The source added that the situation was minor, quickly resolved, and that no boundaries were crossed by either party.
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Mohamed Salah Available To Play Against Australia
There were doubts whether Mohamed Salah, considered one of the greatest African players in football history, would be available to play against Australia due to a hamstring issue he sustained against Iran. However, the 34-year-old will feature in the match, according to manager Hossam Hassan.
He said, per ESPN: “Against Iran, we learned that he suffered a hamstring strain during the second half of the match and asked to be substituted. Our very distinguished medical department took care of that, and we tried to introduce him to partial team training as of yesterday only.
“But Salah is a passionate player; he is very much looking forward to making his own contributions with his teammates tomorrow.
“But of course, I am not going to run any risk unless I am sure that he is 100 percent sure of the fact that he is fit and raring to go tomorrow. We look forward to him playing tomorrow, not sure though whether he is going to be in the starting lineup.”
The winner of the match between Egypt and Australia will play either Argentina or Cape Verde in the last 16.
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