Roy Keane has lambasted Liverpool supporters for their treatment of Trent Alexander-Arnold on his return to Anfield with Real Madrid.
On Tuesday, Alexander-Arnold, 27, returned to his boyhood club for the first time since completing a £10 million move to Real Madrid ahead of the Club World Cup back in June.
It was unclear whether Trent would start the game after his recent struggles with a hamstring injury, before he was named as a substitute by head coach Xabi Alonso.
And it’s fair to say that the welcome provided by Liverpool supporters was far from a warm one.
Before the game, a mural of Trent outside Anfield was defaced.
A few hours later, Trent finally took to the pitch replacing Arda Guler with just under 10 minutes to play in Real’s 1-0 defeat, with Alexis Mac Allister’s header securing all three points for the Reds.
The Liverpudlian was greeted by a chorus of boos before several fans began chanting about Steven Gerrard and current right-back Conor Bradley in an attempt to throw Trent off.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed at Anfield (Credit:Getty)
Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed at Anfield (Credit:Getty)
Every time he touched the ball, he was jeered despite only being on the pitch for just over 10 minutes, including stoppage time.
Of course, it must be noted that not all Liverpool fans gave the right-back a negative reception, with some looking back on Trent’s time fondly, given the fact that he helped the club win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, one Club World Cup and one Champions League.
But there’s no getting away from the fact that thousands of supporters were booing, which is something former Man United captain Keane described as classless on the Stick to Football podcast.
After admitting that fans “don’t have to wish him [Trent] luck in Madrid", Keane claimed: "But to go to the effort of thinking, 'I'm going to boo this kid' as a local lad and Liverpool fans, for some reason, think they've got class. No, Liverpool fans have to have a good look at themselves.
"The beauty with Trent over the last year or two is that he has said very little; he's not been one to say, 'Oh, I'd love to stay here.’
"He has actually kept his mouth shut, and sometimes that's not a bad thing to do. How many times do you see players say, 'Oh, I love this club,' and then they leave? He kept it cool.”
And despite receiving a bad reception from the club’s fans, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot maintained that Trent is “very special” to him, having earlier promised that the defender will always receive a warm reception from him.