Trent Alexander-Arnold’s grandmother used to date Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson

On Oct 14, 2022

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold could have been calling Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson his grandad.

Long before Alexander-Arnold was tearing up the Premier League for Jurgen Klopp‘s side, Sir Alex was dating his maternal grandmother Doreen Carling. The Scot made the revelation in his autobiography, which was released in 2013 shortly after his retirement.

He said Doreen was his “first steady girlfriend” and they dated for around 18 months as teenagers in Glasgow. But their relationship “suffered the fate of most first romances and petered out”.

After that Doreen moved to New York and later married, ending any hope of her and Fergie getting back together. That actually meant Alexander-Arnold was eligible to play international football for the United States before he committed to England.

Weirdly enough, his family ties to rivals United don’t end there. One of his mum’s cousins, John Alexander, was the Red Devils’ club secretary from 2010-2017.

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Sir Alex Ferguson dated the Liverpool star’s grandmother as a teenager
(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)

The was of course at the same time the Reds right-back was making his way through the ranks, but he opted to stay on Merseyside instead of following his relative to Manchester.

Sir Alex actually asked him about that decision. According to the New York Times, Alexander-Arnold replied: “My mum doesn’t drive on motorways.”

Former United academy manager Brian McClair explained: “Even though his uncle was the secretary, you knew you weren’t going to get him. So we were never going to get him.

One of Alexander-Arnold’s relatives worked for United as he was breaking through
(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)

“His sister is a Liverpool fan, the family were all Liverpool fans, he wasn’t going to leave Liverpool. It was a simple message. You can’t say to John Alexander ‘get into your sister’ because she only knows the answer.”

He’s been vindicated for his choice as aged 24, he’s already won the Premier League title, the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, and made more than 200 appearances for his boyhood club.