Watch: England footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold impresses with his fluent Spanish at Real Madrid’s unveiling

Trent Alexander Alexander, a star of the English national team, showed off his Spanish fluency by speaking it without any notes during his Real Madrid debut on Thursday.

British footballers are known for their poor language skills. Gareth Bale and David Beckham, for example, have been unable to learn the Spanish lingo after moving to Spain.

But the latest group of Brits working in Spain appears eager to reverse the trend.

Last year, Alexander-Arnold’s close friend Jude Bellingham stunned onlookers by thanking Real fans in near-perfect Spanish during a parade celebrating the La Liga title.

READ MORE: Watch British footballer Jude Bellingham show off his Spanish skills during a post-victory address with his Real Madrid teammates

Alexander-Arnold spoke for one minute, one second, as he was revealed as a Real Madrid footballer at the club’s Valdebebas Training Ground. His command of the Spanish language suggests that he has been aware of his move to the Spanish giants since a long time. 

Alexander-Arnold took to the stage, wished the crowd good afternoon and said: “Thanks Florentino Perez for the opportunity.” It doesn’t happen very often.

It’s a dream that has come true. I am happy and proud to have made it here. I want to show Real Madrid supporters how I play. Real Madrid is a demanding team, but I’m going to do everything I can for my teammates and Real Madrid fans.

I want to show my fans what I can do. I want to win a lot of titles. I want to play in Madrid with the best players and be a champion.

READ MORE: Inside Jude Bellingham’s life in Spain: How England star, 21, lives in exclusive ‘footballer’s paradise’ near his Real Madrid training ground – but is often seeing visiting local cafes while keeping a low profile

In typical style, the Liverpudlian ended his speech by shouting ‘Hala Madrid!Alexander-Arnold, his family, and Estelle, Alexander’s model girlfriend, all applauded wildly before the speech ended. 

Alexander-Arnold responded to the press when asked how long he’d been studying Spanish: “A few, a few, months.”

The right-back, who was born in Liverpool, joins Real after 354 appearances across all competitions. He scored 27 goals and provided 96 assists.

Alexander-Arnold’s contract had been due to run out at the end of June, but Los Blancos agreed a €10 million deal that allows the defender to join Xabi Alonso’s squad ahead of this month’s lucrative inaugural Club World Cup in the US. 

Florentino Perez hailed the Englishman as a superstar in his inaugural address. He said: “26 years old, a legend of the game and now he joins our family.”

READ MORE: Spain’s Xabi Alonson is unveiled as the new Real Madrid manager

“A player with everything won. A world-class defender and fullback who played for Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the game.

“Dear Trent. Welcome to Real Madrid. Thank you for joining the club. We understand how much it means to you. You could’ve signed with any club, but chose to sign for Real Madrid. “Our fans will never forget what you did.”

Alexander-Arnold made a surprising decision to switch his iconic No.66 shirt with No.12. He will also have ‘Trent’ on his back, rather than Alexander-Arnold, citing confusion on the continent about English double-barrelled surnames.

Real’s newest signing could make his Real debut in the opening match of the Club World Cup in Miami against Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal on Wednesday.