Trent Alexander-Arnold will not stand in the way of Real Madrid's 'dream' transfer target, thanks to a little-known La Liga rule.
The 26-year-old England international left his boyhood club Liverpool to join the Spanish giants ahead of the Club World Cup.
Following a €10 million (£8.4m) deal between the two clubs, the right-back is set to make his debut in the competition, with Real's campaign kicking off against Al Hilal - who have just recently suffered a major blow after Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes told them he wasn't leaving MUFC for the Middle East in a £700,000 a week deal.
However, under La Liga rules, clubs are only allowed to register three non-EU players in their matchday squads, with Alexander-Arnold occupying one of those three slots.
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And transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now reported that Real Madrid have approached River Plate to sign Argentinian 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono, seen as having the potential to be a real star of the future.
He wrote: "Real Madrid have made approach with both Franco Mastantuono’s camp and also River Plate.
"Mastantuono’s dream since he was a kid is joining Real Madrid, now time for the negotiations. Real Madrid and PSG are in a battle to get the deal done."
Fortunately for Real Madrid, Mastantuono holds an Italian passport, meaning he would not take up a non-EU spot if he moved to Spain.
What is La Liga's non-EU player rule?
Under La Liga rules, players who do not have European Union nationality are non-EU citizens.
Clubs are limited to five non-EU players in their full squads, but only three can be named on match days. Since Brexit, where the UK left the EU, English, Scottish, and Welsh players now occupy a non-EU slot.
To avoid taking up one of those slots when he signed from Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham worked with Real to apply for an Irish passport and free up the non-EU quota spots.
Despite having 42 caps for England, Bellingham has an Irish-born grandparent and at Real's request, applied for an Irish passport.
How do Real Madrid get around the non-EU player rule?
For Real Madrid - or any Spanish club in La Lia - a player can obtain Spanish citizenship after just two years of legal residence in Spain if they are a citizen of certain countries,
The exception applies to people from Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal.
As a result, South American players like Vinicius Junior, who joined Real Madrid in 2018, have since become Spanish citizens and no longer occupy a non-EU slot.
Fellow Brazilians Rodrygo and Eder Militao were granted their Spanish citizenship in 2022, showing the value Real places in young talent able to meet the two year threshold early on in their career with the club.
Who occupies Real Madrid's non-EU player spots?
Trent Alexander-Arnold's arrival has taken up one of the non-EU slots, putting them closer to their three player match day cap on non-EU footballers.
Brazilian forward Endrick, who joined the club in 2024, is not yet eligible for Spanish citizenship and currently occupies another slot.
Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler avoid being part of the quota. While not from countries within the EU both men are considered 'community players' under European Union legal framework and granted the same working conditions as those from EU member states.
So although the Spanish club currently have no more non-EU players, they are only one non-EU signing away from having the selection headaches they have faced in the past.
Back in 2020, for example, the club had five non-EU players. At the time Gareth Bale, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Militao, Reinier Jesus and Take Kubo, saw them exceed the match day limit of three and even the squad limit of five by one spot.
Topics: Football, Football News, Jude Bellingham, La Liga, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Transfer News
James Taylor