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Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to leave Liverpool at the end of his contract and join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Gary Neville believes Liverpool’s failure to tie Trent Alexander-Arnold down to a new contract is ‘unforgivable’.
The Reds’ vice-captain looks set to depart the club on a free transfer at the end of the season - despite his boyhood club being on the verge of winning the Premier League title. Alexander-Arnold is out of contract in June and has still to pen fresh terms. He appears poised to join Spanish superpower Real Madrid.
Captain Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, who has scored 32 goals this campaign, also see their respective deals culminate in three months’ time. However, the pair are aged 33 and 32, while Alexander-Arnold is very much at the peak of his powers at 26. What’s more, he hails from the city and is homegrown, having graduated through Liverpool’s academy to win seven major trophies, including the Champions League and Premier League.
The exit of former manager Jurgen Klopp, the appointment of successor Arne Slot and bringing in new sporting director Richard Hughes meant there have been some other matters for owners Fenway Sports Group to deal with over the past year. But Neville, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast believes that the ‘tea lady’ could have made the decision to tie down Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk and Salah. And the ex-Manchester United right-back believes not offering Alexander-Arnold a new contract at least two years ago was a major error.
What has Gary Neville said about Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool?
Neville said: “I’m not having a go at the current people who are there now, I’m having a go at the club over the last three years, not seeing three of the best players in Europe and in the world being signed up
“You could’ve been the tea lady, the kit man at Liverpool that made the decision to keep those three players and give them a new contract. You didn’t have to be the sporting director.
“To be fair, there is probably a lot of that has been going on as well, I suspect with Trent. I reckon a couple of years ago, probably around the time van Dijk was probably going through that patch when he looked a little bit like he might be just teetering a little bit. They looked at them and thought: ‘Yeah, we’ll wait with you’. And the players are probably holding that against them a little bit now and thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, when you could have come to me 18 months ago’.
“I think with Trent, it’s unforgivable. Let’s be clear, whether you’re going through a turbulent time in the boardroom or not, if you’re the owner of the club and you look at Trent two years ago, even if you’ve got disruption in your sporting department, you’re looking at it and thinking: ‘We’ve got to sign him up! He’s one of our own!’”
Carragher response
In response, Kop legend Jamie Carragher said: “People say you can’t let him go on a free. If a player wants to leave on a free transfer, nobody can stop them. You can’t! This thing: ‘If he doesn’t sign, sell him!’
“Were Liverpool really going to sell Trent Alexander-Arnold last summer, just sell him? Real Madrid might not have even wanted him if it was going to cost them £60 million or £70 million. And a new manager’s going to come in and he’s got to fill that right-back position. There was no way in the world Liverpool were going to say last summer, ‘If you don’t sign, we’re selling!’”