Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold does not want to define his career by silverware and admits he has considered the prospect of never winning another trophy.
The England international, who turned 26 on Monday, won the Champions League, Premier League and Club World Cup before his 22nd birthday and has added the FA and League Cups to his tally since then.
However, the summer departure of Jurgen Klopp from Anfield understandably led to a degree of uncertainty.
Arne Slot’s record-breaking start to the season has allayed immediate fears but, with Alexander-Arnold out of contract at the end of the summer, the links with Real Madrid refuse to go away.
Alexander-Arnold, a product of the club’s academy, said he will not judge his career by trophies but by his own personal involvement and development.
“This was a conversation I had last (England) camp with (Eberechi) Eze when we were going to Ireland,” he told ITV.
“I said ‘You know, that there’s a chance I may never win another trophy in my career again’. There’s a chance of that. There’s a chance I win many, many more.
“And you’ll only know the morning after you retire. You’ll look at yourself in the mirror and you’ll have a feeling of either regret or satisfaction of what you have achieved.
“But I don’t think you can value that on trophies and medals or goals and assists; anything like that.
“It’s more (that) I give it absolutely everything from start to finish and I’ve put everything into it.
“And as long as I can say that I tried to get better every single day, I tried to be the best player I could be for the team and I tried to help the team win as many games as possible, and I believe that I maximised the potential that everyone told me from a very young age that I had, then I’ll be more than satisfied.”
