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Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold slammed as he goes public with new girlfriend

Trent Alexander-Arnold was presented as a Real Madrid player on Thursday and introduced his girlfriend to the world, but the press conference has been overshadowed by the right-back’s new language skills

Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals new relationship at Real Madrid unveiling

England footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold used his unveiling as a Real Madrid player to go public with girlfriend Estelle Behnke. The 26-year-old right-back sat next to his model partner as he was presented to Spanish media and introduced himself to Real Madrid fans.

Trent, who previously dated actor Jude Law’s daughter Iris, has been in a relationship with Esetelle since October 2024. She boasts more than 75,000 followers on Instagram and recently posted pictures from a trip to Beverly Hills.

Last year, the happy couple enjoyed a romantic getaway at the exclusive £6,000-per-night Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds and were also seen dining at the celebrity favourite Cibo in Hale, Cheshire.

Dad Michael Alexander-Arnold, Trent, florentino perez real madrid president, girlfriend Estelle Behnke  and mum Diane Alexander-Arnold
Estelle Behnke beamed as she supported her boyfriend on his special day

Trent and his new flame turned heads as their shared location tags at an exclusive members’ club in the Cotswolds sparked romance rumours. Eagle-eyed supporters had already picked up on signals of blooming love between the two following individual holiday posts.

And the relationship was confirmed on Thursday when Estelle joined the Trent’s family to watch his press conference at Real Madrid City, Madrid, and sported a stunning in a white one-shoulder dress. But, in what should have been a great day for the footballer, both personally and professionally, has been tainted due to a social media storm over Trent’s new language skills.

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The 26-year-old England international, who signed a six-year deal with the Spanish giants after his contract with English champions Liverpool expired, spoke fluent Spanish confidently at his official presentation ahead of a press conference.

Estelle in a white dress
Estelle and Trent have been dating since October last year

His choice to speak in the language of his new club and not English surprised many, but showed the preparation which had gone into this move, something for which he was criticised by sections of the Liverpool fanbase after running down his contract with his hometown club.

“A SCOUSER speaking fluent spanish? lmaooo trent has been plotting and preparing for this move since the summer of 2022,” one Twitter (X) used commented as the clip of Trent went viral.

“Nah Trent was speaking intermediate level Spanish. He has been planning to leave for YEARSSS LOOOOOOOOOOOL,” another mused, with a third fuming: “Trent cost his boyhood club the winning goal in a Champions League final and immediately started learning Spanish to help orchestrate a move to the club he’d just lost too, don’t let anyone tell you he’s not a rat.”

Acknowledging that many – including former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp – criticised Reds fans for booing Trent during one of his final games for the club after confirming his exit, another Twitter (X) user wrote: “LOOOOOOL na we all need to apologise to Liverpool fans because Trent is all of a sudden fluent in Spanish???? I am so sorry Liverpool fans.”

Trent admitted during his presentation that Real Madrid was the only team he would have left boyhood club Liverpool for and was comfortable he made the right decision.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and model Estelle Behnke after he signed for Real Madrid
Trent claims he has only been learning Spanish for a few months

The 26-year-old, who has signed a six-year deal after Real Madrid paid £8.5million to release him from a contract expiring this month, rejected suggestions he had been heavily influenced by close friend and England team-mate Jude Bellingham.

He also denied he had been orchestrating the move for a long time but impressing president Florentino Perez and assembled club dignitaries by surprisingly addressing them in Spanish did nothing to calm the anger a significant section of the fanbase have felt about the way he handled his exit after 20 years at Liverpool.

“To be honest, it was never a question of where, it was whether to go or not to go but I always knew, I’ve probably known it for a long time, if I was ever to leave Liverpool, it would only be to go Real Madrid, that would be the only club for me,” said Trent, who told a press conference he had been learning Spanish “for a few months”.

“Then it gets to a point where you have to make a decision whether to go or stay and making that decision was not an easy decision because I’d been there so long, but eventually you have to make a decision and in my mind, I’ve made the right one.”

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Where will Wirtz rank in list of most expensive signings?

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Florian Wirtz is set to become the 10th footballer to move for a nine-figure fee after Liverpool agreed to pay Bayer Leverkusen an initial £100m for the Germany attacking midfielder.

Including add-ons, the Reds could end up paying Leverkusen £116m.

The move will make Wirtz, 22, Liverpool’s club record signing, the most expensive German football ever – and the biggest sale by a Bundesliga club.

Liverpool already have the world’s second most expensive goalkeeper – Alisson – and centre-back – Virgil van Dijk.

The British record for an initial fee remains the £107m Chelsea paid for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

Six months later they signed Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for an initial £100m, which could rise to £115m.

Wirtz’s initial fee means he moves for exactly half the world record, which remains the £200m PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar in 2017.

Here BBC Sport looks at some of the most expensive players ever – by position, league and nationality.

Premier League

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Chelsea’s £107m addition of Argentine Fernandez remains the British transfer record.

There is then a four-way tie on £100m – with three having potential add-ons.

Wirtz’s could end up being the biggest of those with £16m in add-ons, while Caicedo’s could reach £115m.

Declan Rice moved from West Ham to Arsenal for a fee which could reach £105m, while Jack Grealish’s move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021 was for a flat £100m.

Chelsea also rank high up with their £97.5m signing of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, while Manchester United’s acquisitions of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba (£89m), Ajax winger Antony (£82m) and Leicester defender Harry Maguire (£80m) are next on the list.

Who is Liverpool’s record signing?

Until the Wirtz transfer is finalised, Netherlands centre-back Van Dijk, at £75m, is Liverpool’s record signing. Alisson’s move from Roma for £66.8m is next.

Striker Darwin Nunez cost an initial £64m, rising to £85m, when he joined from Benfica – and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai cost £60m from RB Leipzig in 2023.

Ligue 1

The two most expensive signings of all time were made by Paris St-German in the same summer.

PSG first spent £200m on Barcelona’s Neymar in 2017, before adding Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, initially on loan, in what became a £165.7m deal.

No other Ligue 1 signings make the top 40.

Randal Kolo Muani is the next highest after his £76.4m move from Eintracht Frankfurt in September 2023.

La Liga

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Spanish clubs have made three of the top 10 most expensive signings of all time, although – perhaps surprisingly – none involve Real Madrid.

Atletico Madrid’s £113m move for Benfica forward Joao Felix in 2019 is third on the all-time list, when you exclude potential add-ons for Barcelona signings Philippe Coutinho (£105m, rising to £142m) and Ousmane Dembele (£96.8m, rising to £135.5m).

Level with Fernandez in fourth is the £107m Barcelona paid Atletico for Antoine Griezmann in 2019.

Coutinho and Dembele are next on La Liga list.

Serie A

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The Italian league’s record spend was on a 33-year-old, with Juventus paying £99.2m in 2018 for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Next comes Juve’s £75.3m signing of Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain in 2016, then Inter’s £74m move for Lukaku from Manchester United in 2019 – which only ranks as Lukaku’s third biggest move.

Bundesliga

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As would be expected, Bayern Munich are responsible for the majority of Germany’s biggest signings – topped by their £86.4m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane in 2023.

The record before that was Lucas Hernandez’s £68m move from Atletico Madrid in 2019.

Other leagues

The biggest purchase by a team outside of Europe’s top five leagues is Al-Hilal’s £77.6m move to sign Neymar from PSG in 2023.

Al-Nassr paid £64.5m to sign Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran in February.

Until the relatively recent Saudi spending spree, most of the biggest signings by non-European clubs had been made in China between 2016 and 2019.

Most expensive British signings

Rice and Grealish jointly hold the title of being the most expensive British footballer.

Jude Bellingham’s 2023 move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for a initial £88.5m puts him third.

Then comes England captain Kane to Bayern, and Wales winger Gareth Bale, who made an £85m move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.

Maguire, the £80m man, is followed by Jadon Sancho, who moved in 2021 from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United for £73m. Mason Mount is next following his £55m move from Chelsea to United.

Scott McTominay is the most expensive Scot, costing Napoli £25.7m last summer from Manchester United – narrowly beating the £25m Arsenal paid Celtic for left-back Kieran Tierney in 2019.

How about other countries?

Argentina’s most expensive player is Fernandez and Spain’s is £71m Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was signed from Athletic Bilbao.

France’s is Mbappe, Brazil’s is Neymar and Van Dijk leads the way for Dutch players.

Ronaldo is top for Portugal, Belgium’s record is Lukaku and Germany’s will be Wirtz.

Goalkeepers

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Most of the priciest goalkeepers have gone to Premier League teams, led by Chelsea’s £71m outlay on Kepa.

Alisson’s move to Liverpool the same summer ranks second, followed by Manchester United’s signing of Inter Milan’s Andre Onana in 2023 for £43.8m.

Next is Manchester City’s 2017 signing of Benfica’s Ederson for £35m.

The Ederson move ended Gianluigi Buffon’s 16-year reign as the world’s most expensive keeper – following his £32.6m move from Parma to Juventus.

Defenders

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Manchester United’s £80m signing of Maguire in 2019 remains the world record fee for a defender.

Second on the list is the £77m Manchester City paid for Croatia full-back Gvardiol in 2023.

Van Dijk’s £75m move from Southampton to Liverpool sits third, with Wesley Fofana’s £70m switch from Leicester to Chelsea not far behind.

Midfielders

The most expensive midfielder is Argentine Fernandez after his £107m move to Chelsea on 1 February 2023.

In second place is Coutinho, who cost Barcelona £105m when they signed him from Liverpool in 2018.

And then there’s the four-way £100m Premier League tie – with Caicedo, Wirtz, Rice and Grealish.

Forwards

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Neymar and Mbappe’s moves to PSG in 2017 make them the two most expensive players, let alone forwards, ever for a combined £365.7m.

Atletico Madrid’s £113m move for Benfica forward Felix in 2019 is third in all positions.

Next among forwards is the £107m Barcelona paid Atletico for Griezmann, also in 2019, then Lukaku’s £97.5m move from Inter Milan to Chelsea in 2021.

Related topics

  • Liverpool
  • Football Transfers
  • Football

Strictly Come Dancing’s Pete Wicks shares one thing he ‘refuses to do’ for a woman

Strictly Come Dancing’s Pete Wicks has confessed there’s one act he won’t perform for a woman. He recently revealed all on his Staying Relevant podcast with Sam Thompson

Pete Wicks made the confession on his podcast(Image: Joseph Okpako/WireImage via Getty Images)

You may often wonder what rules celebrities have in place when it comes to their love lives, and it appears Pete Wicks has a pretty big one. The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant recently revealed all as he appeared on the Staying Relevant podcast with his best friend, Sam Thompson, and he made a candid confession about his future wife.

When talking about relationships, Pete, 37, was asked how he’d propose, and there’s one thing he appears to be set against doing. He made his thoughts clear when Sam quizzed him on his future proposal plan, but it’s clear he’s not interested in what it will look like on social media.

In a clip posted on Instagram, Pete said: “I’m not overly interested in hiring videographers and f***ing people to capture every single moment of it. I don’t need f***ing ‘How Long Will I Love You’ in the background.”

When asked if he’d rather get married abroad or at home, he added: “It depends whatever’s poignant. If it was poignant for us that, I don’t know, you know something really important to us happened at the M1 services, I’d do it there.

“It doesn’t matter where it is – it’s about the person. I’d be on my knee whilst I tell her how much she means to me, ‘I’ve never been in love before until I met you, and I knew from that moment that it will only ever be you’.”

Pete pictured with Sam Thompson
Pete pictured with Sam Thompson (Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
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Sam joked that he’d need to say a bit more than that to seal the deal, but Pete quipped that you can say a lot with your eyes. It’s fair to say the candid confession got a lot of people chuckling.

While Pete’s future wife may not get every moment of their proposal captured, it looks as though many of his fans agreed with his stance. They couldn’t help but laugh at the way he made the confession.

One said: “Aside jokes…whoever steals his forever heart is a lucky woman, he has a good heart.” Another wrote: “I mean I’d say that was a perfect proposal to be honest!”

A third replied: “The picture that Pete painted of his proposal was just perfect! I actually shed a tear.” Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: “Yes – love this!”

However, whatever Pete’s ideas about love may be, it doesn’t seem to be the main thing on his mind at the moment. This week he has been on a quest to try and find dogs a new home.

As the presenter of TV show Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake, he meets hundreds of dogs every year who are in desperate need of a home; however, he was left so touched by the heartbreaking story of Theo that Pete is now calling on kind-hearted Mirror readers to help.

Adorable Theo, who is only four-years-old, has a life-limiting heart condition, which means he may only have up to a year left to live. Pete is on a mission to find him a loving home so he doesn’t have to spend his final days in kennels.

To help out even more, the star has even offered to pay for all Theo’s medical bills himself to lessen the financial pressure for anyone who is kind enough to adopt him.

“I’m not afraid to admit I’m very emotional when it comes to dogs, but it hit me very hard, like a ton of bricks,” Pete says. “It’s impacted me quite a lot and makes me emotional now thinking about it…if you could meet him and just two minutes with him, he is this big, slobbery angel on Earth.”

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Allen smashes Gayle’s T20 cricket sixes record in MLC opener

San Francisco Unicorns opener Finn Allen smashed a record 19 sixes in his incredible 151 off 51 balls against defending champions Washington Freedom in the opening match of the new Major League Cricket (MLC) season.

The New Zealand international opener’s knock on Thursday evening at Unicorns’ Oakland Coliseum, was the Twenty20 league’s highest individual score since its 2023 debut season.

Allen’s six-hitting display passed the previous record of 18 in a T20 match held by West Indian great Chris Gayle and Estonian Sahil Chauhan, who registered the knock in the European Cricket League.

The Unicorns amassed 269-5, an MLC team record, with Allen taking 34 balls to bring up his 100 against a bowling attack that included fellow New Zealand internationals Ben Sears, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.

Phillips took a catch at long-on to dismiss the 26-year-old off Mitchell Owen’s bowling in the 18th over of the innings.

Freedom, led by Australian international Glenn Maxwell, were all out for 146 in 13.1 overs in reply, suffering a comprehensive 123-run defeat.

Allen, who was named Player of the Match, has already smashed two centuries and five fifties in 52 T20 international innings for the Kiwis, and hits at a strike rate of 163.

This was his 22nd fifty in domestic T20 cricket, where he has also scored two centuries but hits at a strike rate of 173.

Trooping the Colour 2025 LIVE: King Charles to ‘break tradition’ at birthday parade

The Royal Family and Buckingham Palace are taking care of their last minute preparations ahead of Trooping the Colour 2025 tomorrow, where King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated in style.

With a host of senior working royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, expected to step out onto the Palace balcony in a matter of hours, thousands of eager royal fans will flood the Mall to catch a glimpse of the royal family and celebrate the spectacular annual event.

With a huge military event and procession kicking off the celebrations, the day will be topped off with a balcony appearance by the royals and a stunning flypast by the RAF.

However, there looks set to be a big change for the King at this year’s Trooping the Colour as he continues to undergo cancer treatment. He is not expected to appear on horseback and will instead travel in a carriage for the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back

The last time the King rode at the ceremony was in 2023 which was the first time the monarch had ridden in the parade since Queen Elizabeth did in 1986.

King Charles two birthdays explained – and why Prince William may only get one

Trooping the Colour celebrates the monarch’s birthday, even though King Charles’ actual birthday takes place in November. He is not the only monarch to have two birthdays marked in the royal calendar, as Queen Elizabeth II, and many previous monarchs, also celebrated Trooping the Colour only to have their actual birthdays later in the year.

But why does the monarch have two birthdaysin the first place? And why isn’t Trooping the Colour celebrated on the King’s actual birthday? The answer comes down to two very British things: tradition and the weather.

However, while Charles has the privilege of two birthdays, the annual tradition could change when Prince William becomes king.

Read the full story here – King Charles two birthdays explained – and why Prince William may only get one

(PA)

Prince William ‘scolded’ at Trooping the Colour by unimpressed Queen’s telling off

In one of the most memorable moments from the year’s past at Trooping the Colour, Prince William caught the world’s attention when he was told off by the late Queen Elizabeth.

During the monarch’s 2016 birthday celebrations, Prince William was captured crouching down on the the Buckingham Palace balcony to have a sweet moment with Prince George – who was just three years old at the time.

Depsite the wholesome moment warming the hearts of royal onlookers, the break in royal etiquette did not go down well with Her Majesty.

Read the full story here – Prince William ‘scolded’ at Trooping the Colour by unimpressed Queen’s telling off

Prince William was called out by the unimpressed Queen over a break in royal etiquette (AFP via Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘awkward exchange’ at Trooping the Colour explained

The last time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were included in the coveted royal balcony line up at the annual Trooping the Colour, fans spotted a seemingly tense moment between the two.

In 2019, Harry and Meghan were joined on the balcony by a large group of senior royals as they all marvelled in the RAF flypast, when eagle-eyed fans seemed to spot a tense exchange between the couple.

However, when a video of the full moment was shared online, it seems there was more than meets the eye.

Read the full story here – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘awkward exchange’ at Trooping the Colour explained

Harry and Meghan at Trooping the Colour in 2019 (Getty Images)

What is Trooping the Colour? Here’s what to expect from the King’s birthday celebration

With Buckingham Palace and the royal family busy preparing for the King’s birthday tomorrow, we have taken a look back at some of the most memorable moments from Trooping the Colour celebrations in years past.

With a huge military event and procession kicking off the celebrations, the day will be topped off with a balcony appearance by the royals and a stunning flypast by the RAF. Here’s everything we know about Trooping the Colour 2025, including what royals are expected to attend, how to watch, and where the longstanding tradition comes from.

Read the full story here – Trooping the Colour 2025: King Charles to ‘skip’ birthday parade tradition

The Firm are busy preparing for 2025 Trooping the Colour, with the King’s birthday celebrations kicking off tomorrow (Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)

Noel Gallagher breaks silence on Oasis rehearsals and gives verdict on band

Noel Gallagher has told his pal Bono he is ‘shocked’ at how the Oasis rehearsals are sounding. In the first revelation from the singer songwriter since the band reunited, US frontman Bono revealed Noel is confident the Oasis Live 25 reunion tour should sound great.

Bono, an Oasis fan himself, teased fans by saying we were going to have a “good Summer” and he would be at the Gallagher gigs too.

On Oasis, Bono said in a new interview: “I love them. I just love them. And what I really love is this, the sort of preciousness that had gotten a part of what was called indie music. They just blew it out.

“And there was just a swagger. The sound of getting out of the ghetto, not glamorising it. And they’re both funny, funny, funny.

“I’m still very close with Noel. And he got a message to me, and he says that he’s kind of shocked by how great the band is. So I think we’re going to have a good summer.”






Liam and Noel Gallagher are back in the rehearsal room and sounding better than ever
(
PA)

Asked if he would be going to see Oasis himself, Bono told Zane Lowe: “Of course! And remember what they did as well. Those kind of big guitars, big Neil Young generous sounds.

“They were against the law in the UK, and they’re like, ‘No, I have to do what I f**king want.’

“And then they had this kind of rhythmic, beautiful quality. ‘Today is gonna be the day…’ So that’s a kind of, that’s an almost R&B rhythm.

“But Manchester was very influenced by dance music, so they were groovier than anybody. They were rawer than anybody.

“And Edge and myself met them in the first album. We went to Noel’s flat. And they’re like… it’s literally a basement flat first album.

“And it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m into U2. Noel’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re the Edge! Wow!’ And Liam’s whatever.

“And I’m saying, you know, America’s great, because at that time It didn’t get through – till now. By the way, Oasis message didn’t get through maybe to America, and America didn’t get through to… so this is going to be, this would be like their first tour in the US. People that know how great they are.”

Noel and Liam will walk on stage for the first time together in public, since the band split nearly two decades ago, on July 4 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. There will also be dates in Manchester, London and Dublin as part of the tour.

The legendary Manchester band are reuniting for their first tour in 16 years, dubbed Oasis Live ’25, after finally burying the hatchet last year.

Earlier this week frontman Liam admitted he was sad about the split.

A user asked on X: “How does it feel singing songs with ur brother again? Like old times? (sic)”

To which, Liam replied: “You know what it’s spiritual but I can’t help think about all those wasted years, what a waste of PRECIOUS time (sic).”

Oasis split following a backstage bust-up between the Gallaghers at Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009.

Their return to the stage has been one of the most anticipated music events of the decade, with rehearsals now well underway in London.

* The full interview with Bono is on The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music 1.