Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is on the verge of penning a contract with Real Madrid to join as a free agent this summer. Fans on Merseyside have turned on their local hero with fierce backlash as they feel he is betraying them after coming through their youth academy.
Alexander-Arnold has won everything possible at Anfield; the Premier Leagye, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup. The defender may feel he has nothing more to accomplish. Express Sport writers have had their say on the situation…
Mikael McKenzie
Liverpool fans are trying to hold Trent Alexander-Arnold hostage with their public outrage over his impending move to Real Madrid. They’re trying to force him to stay when he clearly doesn’t want to.
Let the boy move. He’s given everything in his 349 matches for the club and deserves to go on and have a glittering career.
It’s not like he’s going to a direct rival who they are going to be competing against week in, week out.
Charlie Malam
The lure of Real Madrid is huge, that’s undeniable. But for a lad from West Derby who grew up a boyhood fan – there should be no bigger than Liverpool. Especially right now when they’re in a significantly better place than when Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher stayed loyal.
Trent would have been captain within a few years and might have had another 10 years in the team given his passing ability. In the future he would have been talked about as one of the greatest alongside Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish and Mohamed Salah.
Clearly he puts winning a Ballon d’Or and a wider footballing legacy above the adoration of Liverpool fans – unless he’s naive enough to think he’ll still be loved at Anfield after this. If you want an individual award that badly then fair enough but don’t expect the locals to like it.
The fact he’s ditching Liverpool for free, too, means he’ll be spoken about more like Michael Owen and Steve McManaman than Gerrard in a decade’s time. Had he left for a fee it might have been different, but after signing only a four-year contract in 2021 the same summer Alisson signed a six-year deal, the feeling is Trent’s camp have had this idea in the pipeline for a while. That leaves a very sour taste.
Joe Krishnan
Trent Alexander-Arnold has earned the right to decide his future however he pleases. If Liverpool fans should be angry at anyone, it’s the hierarchy for allowing the situation to reach this point. Losing an £80million-rated defender for nothing is unacceptable from a club that usually operates smartly in the market.
At 27, he obviously believes he has one big contract left and a chance to play for Real Madrid is not something you turn down. Very few English players get that opportunity. Harry Kane was chastised for staying with Tottenham for so long. Now he’s at Bayern, he’s somehow improved. I think Trent will follow a similar path.
He’ll have an ally in Jude Bellingham to help guide him through the trials and tribulations of being a Real Madrid player. Make no mistake, it won’t be easy to succeed. The fanbase won’t be as forgiving for his occasional lapses in concentration – and those Bernabeu whistles can be piercing. But you’re kidding me if you’re turning down Madrid to stay at the club where you’ve already achieved everything. And what better way is there to sign off your Liverpool career than by lifting a second Premier League title? Those doubting his decision will soon be silenced when he’s showing off his La Liga and Champions League winners medals.
Charlie Gordon
Trent has talked about the importance of building a legacy before he retires. Can his legacy be enhanced by moving to Real Madrid? I think it can.
He may be about to lose the good wishes of the Anfield faithful but there is little more he can do to build on his Liverpool legacy. He has won everything there is to win and played well over 300 games. And if it’s a wider football legacy he’s interested in, a few hundred extra appearances and a handful of extra titles won’t add much value.
Going to the biggest club on the planet, handling that pressure and winning trophies in a different country, on the other hand, will.
The only thing he should have done for Liverpool is sign a token contract with a modest release clause to ensure they receive a fee. But even that can be forgiven, as he naturally does not want to jeopardise a dream move after giving 21 years to his boyhood club.
Harry Smith
It is easy to understand why Alexander-Arnold would want to join Real Madrid. With Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe all on board, the Spanish giants are putting together an ensemble cast that rivals the original Galacticos, and the opportunity to be a part of that project would be hard to turn down.
But then, why leave Liverpool? Arne Slot’s side are closing in on the club’s first title since 2020 and will do so in a commanding fashion. Of course, uncertainty remains surrounding the futures of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, but the groundwork is in place for the Merseyside outfit to fight for more honours in the years to come.
Silverware will no doubt follow if the 26-year-old completes his Bernabeu switch, but if Alexander-Arnold cares about his legacy, the decision is a simple one: Become a cog in the Real Madrid machine or eternalise yourself as a Liverpool legend. The latter is the correct choice.
Amos Murphy
Two things can be true, right? Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving to join the biggest and most successful club in European football is, objectively speaking, the right decision, but Liverpool fans are entitled to feel betrayed by their local hero.
If not, what’s the point of being a football fan? Every supporter dreams of seeing the lad who grew up in the streets surrounding their ground go on and become one of the world’s best players. Liverpool fans understandably believe their club is the centre of the football universe. They’re wrong, but it’s a totally fair thing to believe. Seeing a player leave to go elsewhere, not least one with such a previously unbreakable emotional tie to the club, is always going to sting.
Tom Parsons
Trent Alexander-Arnold has already checked out at Anfield and clearly favours a move to the Bernabeu. He has been an influential figure on Merseyside but has won everything there is to win with his boyhood team and should now kick-on and prove himself at one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Real Madrid will take advantage of the right-back’s attacking credentials and nurture him into one of the biggest stars to ever come out of England.
The move will also see Alexander-Arnold secure his legacy in the sport long after his playing days come to an end. He should be doing all he can to get that contract signed.
Fraser Watson
The furore over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s proposed move to Real Madrid isn’t a signified by a selfish, ungrateful footballer who lacks appreciation for his boyhood club. Instead, it exposes the hypocrisy and entitlement football fan bases have long adopted.
Alexander-Arnold has made 349 club appearances for Liverpool and has been pivotal to the club’s major honours. He’s now been presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove himself in a different environment, in a different country, at the biggest club in the world. He owes Liverpool fans appreciation – but not blind loyalty.
Of course, it is perfectly understandable for the Anfield faithful to be disappointed at the loss of a key player they have previously lauded. But before casting him as the villain who’ll never be forgiven, maybe they should remember club legends Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Kevin Keegan, and others all upped and left in their prime. And let’s not pretend Steven Gerrard didn’t come perilously close when Chelsea turned his head.
Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool legacy won’t be defined by the narrow-minded on social media. And nor will his impact at the Bernabeu.
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