Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold makes shock '£84m bid' to buy French team amid Cardiff City legal battle

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been linked with a move to Real Madrid after entering the final 18 months of his Liverpool contract but the right-back's future may lie in club ownership

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has reportedly made a bid to buy French football club FC Nantes. The 25 year old defender, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, is said to have offered €100million (£84m) for the Ligue 1 side through a London investment firm managed by his father, Michael.

According to French sports newspaper L'Equipe, the England international and his dad held remote talks with the club's hierarchy in the summer before meeting in person more recently. However, it's claimed that the proposed financials did not meet the valuation of Nantes owner Waldemar Kita, who is reported to be 'furious' at the leak of Alexander-Arnold's interest and has denied the reports.

Nantes, of course, are the team at the heart of a £100m legal battle with Cardiff City over tragic striker Emiliano Sala. Cardiff are suing the French side for loss of income and other damages suffered by the club due to Sala's death.

The striker was tragically killed five years ago when the plane carrying him from Nantes to Wales to join the then Premier League club crashed in the Channel close to Guernsey, and the legal wrangling between the two clubs has been ongoing almost ever since. You can read more about that here.

It's also suggested that the Liverpool player considered buying AS Saint-Etienne and Le Havre before deciding to proceed with his bid for Nantes, who have won eight French titles in their history. Alexander-Arnold is already a minority shareholder in the French Formula 1 team, Alpine.

Alexander-Arnold's contract situation at Liverpool, along with interest from Real Madrid, has caused concern among fans regarding his future at the club.

An article from The Independent has indicated that the highly-rated right-back is evaluating his options in the post-Jurgen Klopp era, now under the guidance of new manager Arne Slot at Anfield, reports the Mirror.

Slot recently expressed his nonchalance about the fact that key players Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk are approaching the last year of their contracts, also mentioning there were no updates on new deals.

"Again, I'll give the boring answer, which you're going to get from me as long as there's no news about this, but we don't talk about contract situations over here," said Slot last week.

He added, "Is it distracting? Is that the word you used for me? No, it isn't because I'm fully focused on the individuals in the team and they're part of the team. I'm just focused on trying to work with them in the best possible way to get the best out of them. So it's not a distraction for me at all."