Liverpool supporters saw one player join and one leave on Friday as the summer transfer window got underway.
The Reds are expected to be busy both in terms of arrivals and departures over the next few months, with Arne Slot shaping the team in his image.
After months of speculation, the first player out of the exit door was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was confirmed to be joining Real Madrid.
Rather than head to Madrid on a free transfer, though, Alexander-Arnold will join the European champions for a fee of around £10m.
With the right-back having just one month left on his Liverpool contract, the deal can ultimately be seen as good business for the Reds.
However, there’s no getting away from the fact that at full price, Alexander-Arnold would have been worth much, much more. And according to pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor, that is something Liverpool fans should not forget.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League
Gabriel Agbonlahor blasts Real Madrid
By the time the announcement came on Friday, Liverpool fans had long accepted that Alexander-Arnold would be leaving.
Nevertheless, that has not meant it has been easy for supporters. The No. 66’s exit turned toxic a little while ago, with many feeling betrayed by Alexander-Arnold.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
And with that feeling still very much present, Agbonlahor told TalkSPORT that Liverpool should have turned down Madrid’s £10m bid for Alexander-Arnold and told them to wait until his contract was up.
“Do you know what I would have done, I would have loved it and I’m sure Liverpool fans would agree,” the pundit began. “[I would have said] ‘stuff you, you’ve gone after our player sneakily, you’ve made a deal for him to say ‘I’m going to Real Madrid,’ You’ve cost us £100m, he’s a £100m player. You know what, stuff you, you can wait until July the 1st and he’s going to miss two games of the Club World Cup, how about that’.
READ MORE: Ryan Gravenberch reveals what happened when Liverpool’s Dutch trio FaceTimed new signing Jeremie Frimpong
“You think you can bully everyone, Real Madrid, biggest club in the world, but you’re not bullying Liverpool’. Yes, £10m, great money, it can go towards transfers, business wise. But sometimes I look at it and think, wouldn’t it be nice if Liverpool said ‘nah, he’s not going to play a game for you until the 1st of July. You you think you can get anything you want’.
😠 “I’d have said to Madrid ‘stuff you, you think you can bully everyone’.”
❌ “I wouldn’t have taken the £10m.”
Gabby was fuming with Real Madrid’s treatment of #LFC during the Trent saga pic.twitter.com/73NJlRtD5G
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) May 31, 2025
View Tweet
“I wouldn’t have taken it,” Agbonlahor reiterated. “I’d have said ‘no, you went and sneakily spoke to Trent, you went and turned his head, he’s left his boyhood club on a free transfer, now because you’ve got this tournament and you want to show him off.’ I’m not having it.
“Maybe it’s my petty nature, but it’s just the way they’ve gone about it. They did it with Mbappe, they’ve done it to Liverpool, there’s talk they’re going to do it with Konate, that’s the talk that’s going around as well. Yes, £10m might help Liverpool but I just think make them wait. We dictate, stuff you.”
Many Liverpool fans will view this as a welcome comment from Agbonlahor. Since supporters booed Alexander-Arnold several weeks ago they have been roundly criticised by much of the mainstream media.
As a result, hearing someone echo their grievances with how this whole situation has played out will be a relief.
In the meantime, Alexander-Arnold is continuing to put distance between himself and Liverpool.
After being announced as a Real Madrid player on Friday, the 26-year-old commented on an Instagram post put out by Real Madrid of him and manager Xabi Alonso during Bayer Leverkusen’s visit to Anfield last season.
“El Jefe,” Alexander-Arnold commented along with a saluting emoji.
He does not need to worry about Liverpool supporters any more, and it is showing. Time to hit that unfollow button, Reds.