Nobody knows the consequences of leaving Liverpool better than Michael Owen, whose transfer to Real Madrid could be replicated by Trent Alexander-Arnold
Sport
Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool during a training session
Trent Alexander-Arnold finds himself at a career crossroads
Michael Owen has warned Trent Alexander-Arnold he'll lose control of his career if he ditches Liverpool for Real Madrid. The right-back is out of contract at the end of the season and could swap clubs on a free.
If he does, the 26-year-old will follow in the footsteps of former Liverpool forward Owen, who made a £8million transfer in the summer of 2004 after declining to extend his Anfield stay.
Real Madrid can open talks with Alexander-Arnold from next week, and Owen, who doesn't regret his decision to leave the Reds, has warned the defender to consider the impact it could have on his legacy.
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Owen exclusively told the ECHO, via AceOdds, that a slippery slope awaits should that materialise. "I can assure you I was as loyal and committed and everything else as the likes of Trent and [Jamie] Carragher and all these people," he insisted.
"But you lose a little bit of control and things happen. Then you've almost gone into career mode and right, I've got to stay at the top, I've got to do this, I've got to keep my England place. All these other factors start coming in.
"Whereas when you're at Liverpool, when you're at your boyhood club, it just all happens in front of you. You've got no decisions to make, just keep getting out there and playing football. It's all different."
Michael Owen of Real Madrid celebrates his goal during the La Liga match between Real Madrid v Valencia at the Bernabau stadium on October 23, 2004
Michael Owen explained what leaving Liverpool means
Owen's remaining reputation on Merseyside was tarnished with his 2009 transfer to Manchester United. "I get it, I'm not stupid," he said. "Someone would say, 'But he (Alexander-Arnold) won't go to Manchester United or he won't do this or he won't do that', but I didn't expect to either."
He doesn't read into sentiment towards him all that much, adding: "Circumstances will dictate how people are viewed. I can go back to Anfield and listen to the crowd, the Kop singing for players that played 10 games and were pretty average for Liverpool, but because they've got a catchy name, they get sung to all the time and people have this assumption that they are great for the club.
"All of us ex-players are baffled and actually giggle at certain things like that. Listen, football can be so much as what happens on the last bloody game of your career.
"You can go throughout your life and be absolutely extraordinary and do everything for a club, but the one little moment, people half remember that. It's pathetic in many ways, but that's it, isn't it? That's life."