Liverpool supporters have certainly had themselves a rough couple of weeks.
Rewind back to March 10th and things were looking decidedly good for the Reds, but defeat in the Champions League and then the Carabao Cup final darkened moods on Merseyside.
Then came the international break and the news that fans have perhaps been expecting, but dreading nonetheless: Trent Alexander-Arnold is joining Real Madrid.
Northing is official yet, of course, but the overwhelming feeling is that the Scouser will now leave Liverpool for Los Blancos.
Until things are all sealed and announced, though, perhaps hope can remain that Alexander-Arnold will change his mind and stay at Anfield.
If Reds supporters are clinging onto that last shred of belief, then they need only look at another of their own, Steven Gerrard, for confirmation that an unexpected U-turn could still happen.
Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Steven Gerrard very nearly left Liverpool
Throughout his career at Liverpool, Gerrard has been a reference point for Alexander-Arnold.
The former captain is a boyhood hero of Trent’s, as he was for every single Liverpool fan who grew up during the late 1990’s and 2000’s.
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But things were not always rosy for Gerrard at Anfield. Back in 2005, having just captained the Reds to a miraculous Champions League win, Stevie was inches away from joining Chelsea.
It’s hard to picture now, but there were burning of ‘Gerrard 8’ shirts all across Liverpool, with a real feeling of hostility developing towards the Scouser.
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It had felt for all the world that Gerrard was about to jump ship to join Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge until, at the eleventh hour, the Liverpool academy graduate had a sudden change of heart after talking with his dad and brother.
“I was so close to leaving but that hour with my dad and Paul changed everything,” Gerrard later said.
“‘What’s best for you? What do you want? Can you handle the Kop turning against you? Can you accept the fact that you’ll never play for Liverpool again?’. These were the kind of questions — none of them to do with money — that we picked apart inside the four walls of my dad’s front room.”
Is it realistic Trent Alexander-Arnold could stay?
Liverpool fans were put on alert on Saturday night when a video emerged on Mohamed Salah’s Instagram Stories.
The clip, although short and without sound, featured Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai sitting on a sofa with an animated Alexander-Arnold.
With Salah also clearly present, supporters were left wondering what exactly the meaning of the post was, with some speculating that the three players had staged an ‘intervention’ in order to will their teammate to stay.
Maybe misguidedly so, the short video has reignited a belief within some that Alexander-Arnold could yet pull a U-turn on joining Real Madrid and stick with Liverpool instead.
While that does not feel especially likely at this stage, Gerrard’s saga of 20 years ago shows that when the emotions of leaving a boyhood club are involved, things can change quickly. Until the ink is dry on that contract in Spain, anything is still possible.