Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones destroyed by foreign media after reunion

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones were on opposite sides in the Champions League as Real Madrid beat Inter Milan, but both former Liverpool stars were criticized.

Spanish and Italian media have pounced on Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones after the two former Liverpool stars were reunited in the Champions League. Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid beat Jones’ new team Inter 2-1 on Tuesday night.

The pair were born less than five miles apart and Alexander-Arnold joined the Reds’ academy at six and Jones signed at nine. Both rose through the ranks to the first team and became part of a team that won numerous trophies in the following years.

However, Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2025, while Jones said goodbye to his boyhood club last month, signing for Inter Milan for £30 million.

Alexander-Arnold, in midfield, faced Jones on Tuesday night but the Spanish and Italian media were unimpressed with either player.

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Jones suffered an early setback, losing the ball in preparation to Kylian Mbappe, giving Real the lead as the game progressed. Jones was not entirely to blame: Yann Aurel Bissek reacted sluggishly to the threat on the edge of the penalty area.

The Football Italia website furiously described the incident as a “brain injury” and Spanish publication AS accused Jones of “falling asleep” after giving the ball away.

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Italian newspaper La Stampa took a slightly more sympathetic tone towards Jones, highlighting the danger he posed in attack, noting: “The Nerazzurri put in a strong performance in the first half, coming close to scoring on several occasions – thanks to Jones and [Andy] Diouf – but were punished with two individual errors. A misunderstanding between Jones and Bissek led to Mbappe’s goal in the 14th minute.”

Meanwhile, the Spanish media showed little sympathy for Alexander-Arnold. Radio Marca said: “The evening had already started poorly due to the forced experimentation caused by yellow cards, putting Trent Alexander-Arnold in a position where he contributed little. They thanked him and took a photo as a souvenir because he is unlikely to play as a midfielder again.”

The website Managing Madrid gave him a score of 5/10 and commented: “Moving into midfield was not his decision and the role brought him little benefit. However, he looked lost in defense and didn’t have much influence in possession.”

Former Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart also took a dig at Alexander-Arnold, saying he “doesn’t like watching” him. Analyzing clips of the game on Ziggo Sport, he noted: “He’s at the front of the defence, which is not his position.

“He appears to be out of shape or suffering from something. Normally, these balls would be nothing to him. I think he’s slow and makes poor decisions with the ball.”

“Just look at him shuffling around behind here. Looks like he has a thumbtack in his shoe. He’s a little lame, hitting every ball the wrong way.

“I think he’s playing very poorly. I would have replaced him. When they started cheering for the goal, you could see he was tired. Alexander-Arnold really needed to catch his breath.”