There was a lot of emotion, from both sides, when Trent Alexander-Arnold opted to leave Liverpool and join Real Madrid last summer.

It was a very testing debut season for the right-back, who was part of utter chaos in Madrid, including the sacking of now-Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso.

But with Jose Mourinho now in the Madrid dugout, added to the legendary boss opting against using Alexander-Arnold at all during their win over Sevilla at the weekend, Steve Nicol feels there is now ‘regret’ in the air for the Englishman.

Speaking on ESPN, the Liverpool legend thinks that Alexander-Arnold, right at this moment, ‘regrets’ leaving his boyhood club for the Spanish giants.

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Steve Nicol says Trent Alexander-Arnold would ‘walk’ back into Liverpool XI

It needs to be noted that Alonso signed Alexander-Arnold, while Mourinho was the one who brought in Denzel Dumfries from Inter.

But neither were picked to play at right-back over the weekend. Instead, the versatile Madrid skipper Federico Valverde started in that role, with Éder Militão coming off the bench towards the end.

Nicol explained that if Alexander-Arnold, who saw out his contract at Anfield after winning the Premier League title under Arne Slot, was still on Merseyside, he would be ‘playing every week.’

“I would be really surprised if he didn’t regret leaving Liverpool now,” said Nicol. “No, you don’t (have to always answer if Real Madrid come calling).

“Let’s get this clear, right? If he were at Liverpool, he would be playing every week. But he’s not; he’s at Real Madrid, and he is playing very rarely. How would he not regret being at Madrid?

“He has won everything; he hasn’t got time to learn anymore. He needs to be playing. He would walk back into the Liverpool team now.

“The question is. Right now, ‘What is he thinking?’ He is probably regretting it.”

Madrid is an emotional beast. Everything, good, bad and ugly, involved an overreaction of some sort. The fact that Alexander-Arnold didn’t win anything in his first season will hurt.

But it will be far, far worse if that trend continues under Mourinho this season. And remember, he doesn’t do things lightly.

Either way, while Alexander-Arnold was a key player for the Reds, it’s not the same for those in all white, including waiting for his first goal for Madrid.

• Alexander-Arnold’s games for Madrid: 41
• Starts: 31
• Goals: 0
• Assists: 8
• Total minutes: 2,528