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Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed by sections of the Anfield crowd against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon
The right-back divided opinions when he announced he will be leaving his boyhood club at the end of the season as a free agent. While it is yet to be confirmed, his next destination is likely going to be Real Madrid, following months of speculation.
Alexander-Arnold will leave Anfield this summer for a new chapter but the nature of his departure will be far from what he had envisioned and hoped for. Instead of an adoring goodbye similar to Steven Gerrard’s emotional send-off, Alexander-Arnold will leave on awkward terms, with the fanbase divided on whether his legacy deserves to remain in tact or not.
Sadly for him, this is something he should really have been expecting.
Boos for Trent Alexander-Arnold were inevitable
The main argument Liverpool fans are trying to make clear is that it’s not the fact Alexander-Arnold has chosen to leave, it’s how he’s gone about it.
During the ongoing contract saga involving himself, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, the right-back was silent compared to his teammates when it came to discussing potential new deals. Alexander-Arnold’s media appearances were extremely limited during this time and one of the only comments he made about the situation gave fans a false sense of hope.
“I have been at the club 20 years and I have signed four or five contract extensions, and none of those have been played out in public. This one won’t be either,” he said last year, suggesting talks were ongoing between him and the club.
However, as the weeks and months went on, Liverpool fans started to accept the reality that their vice-captain would be leaving. The almost radio silence from his corner compared to that of Salah and Van Dijk was very telling.
The major sticking point is that Alexander-Arnold has allowed his contract to run down, meaning no transfer fee for the club that has built him into the player he is now, and a handsome signing on fee when he does inevitably sign for Real Madrid.
A large chunk of Liverpool fans have hit out at this for being a ‘selfish’ approach for Alexander-Arnold. The issue isn’t his desire to pursue a new challenge, it’s the lack of effort to ensure his club bank a significant profit to spend on a replacement.
Players in the past like Philippe Coutinho also left a sour taste in fans’ mouths, but at least he signed a new contract before leaving. The Brazilian’s ‘back injury’ saga irked a lot of fans but things were forgiven when the club eventually bought Alisson and Van Dijk with the mega money from Barcelona.
Real Madrid’s new approach to the transfer market is signing world class players for free. Fans can’t help but feel cheated by the idea of Madrid and Alexander-Arnold talking behind the scenes about him joining as a free agent. Yes, Los Blancos did offer the small sum of £20 million during the winter, but during a Premier League title charge, Liverpool would have never accepted. Especially when considered the Reds were still in the Champions League at this stage and going for top spot in the league phase.
Had Alexander-Arnold signed a new deal only to leave a few months later, there would still be anger among the fans, there’s no doubt about that. Penning a new contract with a huge announcement only to leave in the summer would have certainly lulled fans into a false sense of security.
In this sense, Alexander-Arnold is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t. At least this way, Liverpool would have earned a significant transfer fee for him but the free agent route is arguably the worst possible outcome of his exit.
It is also being questioned why Alexander-Arnold chose to announce his departure right after Liverpool became Premier League champions. Just eight days after lapping up Anfield chanting his name, with hopes of him still opting to stay a while longer, he ripped the carpet from underneath the fans with his social media announcement.
Could that not have waited until after the season ended, after the parade? Real Madrid are eager to sign him in time for the Club World Cup, which would mean an early exit. Supporters feel his quick announcement is setting up the news that he will be leaving prior to his contract expiration.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is ‘already a Real Madrid player’
Fans have been processing the news in different ways. While the thought of a player who has dedicated his whole career so far to his boyhood being booed at his home ground isn’t a nice one, it would have been a poor assumption from Alexander-Arnold that he wouldn’t receive some sort of backlash.
Many supporters have already distanced themselves from the right-back, despite him still very much being a Liverpool player. In the eyes of a lot of fans, Alexander-Arnold is already an official Real Madrid player.
A few years ago, Alexander-Arnold made it clear his aim and dream was to become the captain of Liverpool. This was surely his next milestone once Van Dijk eventually leaves the club. But somewhere in recent months, that dream has faded and been replaced with ambitions at another club.
Fans are also frustrated that he sent mixed signals with his celebration after scoring against Leicester City. The raw passion in his screams as he whipped off his shirt and stared right into the eyes of the travelling fans made everyone feel something. That something was hope. So many believed this was the moment that would lead to his contract announcement, but it wasn’t to be. He also had a celebration at West Ham at the end of December when he scored and gestured talking with his hand, with some taking that as a message the speculation around him was just chatter rather than serious. Whatever his intention, the signals were incredibly mixed .
While Alexis Mac Allister hanging his shirt on the corner flag probably symbolised him hanging up his red jersey and saying farewell, others didn’t take it as such. Ultimately, fans are feeling led astray by this whole situation and they’ve decided to make it clear that they don’t appreciate the way he has gone about all of this. Those of Reds persuasion could have forgiven players leaving prior to the Jurgen Klopp era as Liverpool did not consistently win trophies.
But now, many question why is it not enough for Alexander-Arnold to be winning major trophies with his club, their club. Instead, his ‘dream’ of captaining Liverpool only comes second to one thing, Real Madrid.
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