Trent Alexander-Arnold didn't hesitate to name two football icons alongside tennis star Novak Djokovic, basketball legend Michael Jordan and long-departed singer Elvis Presley when asked to name the line-up for his dream dinner party.
Liverpool and Manchester United supporters might be surprised at the inclusion of a player who won the Champions League with the Red Devils and has scored 103 Premier League goals for Liverpool's bitter north-west rivals. His interaction over hors d'oeuvres with Inter Miami captain and multiple Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi would undoubtedly keep Alexander-Arnold's other dinner guests entertained.
Alexander-Arnold has been a model of consistency on the pitch this season and he's also standing his ground on the thorny issue of make-believe meals guests, about which he's been asked before. He told YouTuber and JD Sports ambassador Chunkz that he'd invite great rivals Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. "I'd like to have a conversation with both of them," he said.
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The in-demand Liverpool man is attracted to Djokovic because of his mentality but didn't elaborate on his selection of six-time NBA champion Jordan or Presley, who's sold more than a billion records and remains the biggest selling solo artist of all time.
Ronaldo is 13 years older than 26-year-old Alexander-Arnold but they have played against each other, just twice, in a club fixture. The first was the 2018 Champions League final where Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, while the second was a 5-0 win for Liverpool at Old Trafford in October 2021 during Ronaldo's second spell with Man United and Alexander-Arnold set up the Reds' second goal for Ronaldo's Portuguese compatriot, Diogo Jota.
The prospect of Messi and Ronaldo catching up over a fancy dinner isn't as far-fetched as it might sound at first. Messi has indicated in the past that a dinner invitation from the Al-Nassr forward would be graciously accepted.
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Alexander-Arnold would set aside his own club's rivalry with Manchester United and hope the two football megastars would do the same. With well over 2,000 matches and more than 1,500 career goals between them, it's easy to understand the appeal.
Topics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Al Nassr, Inter Miami, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
Chris Nee