Kategori: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Is Jeremie Frimpong Liverpool’s ready-made replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Jeremie Frimpong could be on his way to Liverpool (Picture: Getty )
Liverpool may have lost Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer – but Arne Slot’s side have wasted no time in acquiring his replacement.
Alexander-Arnold has been …
Jeremie Frimpong makes promise to Liverpool fans after club announce £29.5m signing
A replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold!
Liverpool bank huge fee from Real Madrid to sell Trent Alexander-Arnold 29 days early
Liverpool have agreed to sell Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid (Getty)
Real Madrid will pay a £8.4m fee to Liverpool in order to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold in time for the Club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold had already agreed to join …
‘I hope one day!’ Tearful Trent Alexander-Arnold sends emotional message to Liverpool fans
Trent Alexander-Arnold played his last game for Liverpool as the Reds lifted the Premier League trophy (Credits: REUTERS)
Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to hold back the tears after bringing the curtain down on his Liverpool career.
The En…
Jurgen Klopp blasts Liverpool fans for booing Trent Alexander-Arnold
Jurgen Klopp says he ‘couldn’t have been more disappointed’ after Liverpool fans booed Trent Alexander-Arnold (PA Wire)
Jurgen Klopp has criticised Liverpool supporters who booed Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield over his decis…
Arne Slot makes shock Trent Alexander-Arnold revelation ahead of final Liverpool game
‘I wasn’t completely happy with him…’
What Trent Alexander-Arnold has said about celebrating against his former club
Just imagine if he scored in front of the Kop next season…
Brighton’s slim European hopes set to be derailed by champions Liverpool
Liverpool can damage Brighton’s chances.
Brighton’s slim European hopes set to be derailed by champions Liverpool
Liverpool can damage Brighton’s chances.
Inside Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool ‘leaving party’ as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk attend

Liverpool dedicated an end-of-season summer party to Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of his departure from Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold confirmed earlier this month that he was leaving the Premier League champions at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
The England star has been at Anfield since he was six and made over 350 appearances for his boyhood club.
Alexander-Arnold helped Liverpool win two Premier League titles and the Champions League but his decision to leave the club has not gone down well with many fans.
The 26-year-old, who looks set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer, was booed by his own supporters during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend.
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While much of the fanbase has reacted angrily to Alexander-Arnold’s decision, those inside Liverpool – including manager Arne Slot – have been more understanding.
The club appear to have held a ‘leaving party’ for Alexander-Arnold on Saturday ahead of the final day of the season next weekend.
‘Summer of 66’ Trent leaving party.Yeah this guys ego is out of control. pic.twitter.com/C4TDUIhcYz
— RYAN (@6thiagoat) May 17, 2025
Nevada Linton uploaded a video to TikTok channel which the caption: ‘R Trent’s leaving party! What a day and experience. Thank you. Go on to live your dreams.’
The event, which appears to have taken place on the grounds of Liverpool’s training complex in Kirby, was covered with branding which read: ‘Welcome to Summer of 66’ in reference to Alexander-Arnold’s shirt number.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Luiz Diaz were among the players pictured at the event.


Guests were able to enjoy food vendors and plenty of activities, including crazy golf and kids’ games.
Liverpool were desperately trying to tie down Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk to new deals throughout their title-winning season.
Salah and Van Dijk have put pen to paper on contract extensions but Alexander-Arnold decided to leave amid interest from Real Madrid.

‘After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season,’ he said. ‘This is easily the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life.
‘This club has been my whole life – my whole world – for 20 years. From the academy right through until now, the support and love I have felt from everyone inside and outside of the club will stay with me forever.
‘I will forever be in debt to you all. But, I have never known anything else and this decision is about experiencing a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself both professionally and personally.’
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A number of Liverpool players have criticised the decision from some fans to jeer Alexander-Arnold during the recent match against Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold will hope for a different reception on Monday night when Liverpool face Brighton and in their Premier League finale against Crystal Palace at Anfield.
‘I think somehow the fans were being harsh with him,’ Salah told Sky Sports.
‘I think he didn’t deserve it at the time, he deserved the fans to treat him the best way possible because he gave it all to the fans.
‘We shouldn’t act this way with anyone who always appreciates the people, who came here even for six months.
‘Imagine someone who gives you his all for 20 years. It’s shouldn’t be like this. I hope that will change next game, against Brighton or in the last game of the season, because he deserves the farewell.’
Anfield captain Van Dijk added: ‘We want to win two more games and after the final whistle, including him [Alexander-Arnold], lift the trophy up and celebrate like we have never done before.
When asked whether Alexander-Arnold’s exit could overshadow the celebrations, Van Dijk said: ‘I don’t think so. It shouldn’t. There’s a lot more players that also deserve an amazing day.’
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Mohamed Salah hits back at ‘harsh’ Liverpool fans for booing Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold has angered some Liverpool fans over his decision to leave (Getty)
Mohamed Salah has urged Liverpool fans to stop booing Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of his Anfield exit.
Earlier this month, Alexander-Arnold announc…
Is Jeremie Frimpong Liverpool’s ready-made replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Jeremie Frimpong could be on his way to Liverpool (Picture: Getty )
Liverpool are set to lose Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer – but Arne Slot’s side appear to be wasting no time in recruiting a potential replacement.
Alexan…
‘I was also booed by Liverpool fans – this is how Trent Alexander-Arnold will feel’

Trent Alexander-Arnold was subjected to boos from Liverpool fans at Anfield during the Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold, who has been at Liverpool since the age of six, recently confirmed he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
His decision comes following a lengthy contract dispute with Liverpool and amid interest from reigning European champions Real Madrid.
Anfield legend Jamie Carragher was among those to express his disappointment with Alexander-Arnold, who has made over 350 appearances for the Reds and helped his boyhood club win two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Alexander-Arnold was named on Liverpool’s bench for Sunday’s clash with Arsenal and was booed as he warmed up on the side of the pitch.
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Those jeers ratchet up when the 26-year-old came on in the 67th minute and almost every time he touched the ball.
Carragher disagreed with the boos but insisted he understood the frustration from the fans, while fellow Liverpool hero Steve Nicol described the scenes as ‘absolutely disgusting’.

Michael Owen knows better than most how it feels to be booed by Liverpool fans and said Alexander-Arnold will be ‘mortified’ and feel ‘absolutely sick’.
Liverpool supporters were unhappy with Owen’s decision to leave the club for Real Madrid in 2004 and made their feelings know when he returned to Anfield with subsequent clubs Newcastle United and Manchester United.
‘For his own people to boo him, it’s a big lump in your throat,’ ex-England striker Owen said on Premier League Productions after Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal.

‘I remember sitting in the player’s lounge after playing against Liverpool for Newcastle. Me and my family were in floods of tears because I’d just been booed by my own players.
‘I still struggle to comprehend it so I’m probably the closest person on the planet that knows exactly what it feels like to be in Trent’s shoes right now.
‘He will be mortified. Trent will leave now knowing that people booed him and it’s hard to get that out of your head, despite what’s happened over the last 20 years.
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‘I forget a lot of the good times and just remember the booing. It makes you feel absolutely sick.’
Owen added: ‘I do question what Arne Slot will do in the remaining two games, especially the one at Anfield.
‘They were chanting about Conor Bradley and Steven Gerrard. It wasn’t the whole stadium. You will hear a minority of boos, it certainly wasn’t the whole stadium.
‘There are a lot of fans who want to thank and praise Trent for his contribution and rightly so.’

Andy Robertson, Alexander-Arnold’s team-mate of eight years, admitted it was ‘not nice’ to hear the boos.
‘But you can’t tell people how to feel,’ the Scottish defender said. ‘That’s how I feel about it and I’m not going to tell anyone else how to feel about it.
‘Disappointed to lose a good friend, he’s an amazing player and an amazing person. He has pushed me through and made me a better player.
‘His legacy will always be there, he’s done so much for this club. He will be missed for me as one of my best friends in the game.
Arne Slot reacts to Liverpool boss for Trent
‘We’ve done it all together. He’s took me to levels I never knew existed. It hasn’t been an easy one for Trent but he has made the decision.’
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, meanwhile, said when asked about the reception his right-back received: ‘Everybody can have their own opinion and you can express it in any way you want to.
‘I heard mixed opinions but the only opinion I have is I owe it to the players and fans to try to win a game of football.
‘And if Conor Bradley can’t go on because he is tired and I have Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench, I will bring him in because we want to win this game of football.
‘And he was very close for us to win it because he had two or three passes… What makes him so special, for me.
‘It is quite simple: If I want to win, I bring him in and that’s what I did. For the fans, they are entitled to have their own opinion.’
Alexander-Arnold is expected to join La Liga giants Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool.
Madrid, who look set to miss out on a trophy this season, tried to sign Alexander-Arnold in January but were knocked back by Liverpool.
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‘I was also booed by Liverpool fans – this is how Trent Alexander-Arnold will feel’

Trent Alexander-Arnold was subjected to boos from Liverpool fans at Anfield during the Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold, who has been at Liverpool since the age of six, recently confirmed he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
His decision comes following a lengthy contract dispute with Liverpool and amid interest from reigning European champions Real Madrid.
Anfield legend Jamie Carragher was among those to express his disappointment with Alexander-Arnold, who has made over 350 appearances for the Reds and helped his boyhood club win two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Alexander-Arnold was named on Liverpool’s bench for Sunday’s clash with Arsenal and was booed as he warmed up on the side of the pitch.
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Those jeers ratchet up when the 26-year-old came on in the 67th minute and almost every time he touched the ball.
Carragher disagreed with the boos but insisted he understood the frustration from the fans, while fellow Liverpool hero Steve Nicol described the scenes as ‘absolutely disgusting’.

Michael Owen knows better than most how it feels to be booed by Liverpool fans and said Alexander-Arnold will be ‘mortified’ and feel ‘absolutely sick’.
Liverpool supporters were unhappy with Owen’s decision to leave the club for Real Madrid in 2004 and made their feelings know when he returned to Anfield with subsequent clubs Newcastle United and Manchester United.
‘For his own people to boo him, it’s a big lump in your throat,’ ex-England striker Owen said on Premier League Productions after Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal.

‘I remember sitting in the player’s lounge after playing against Liverpool for Newcastle. Me and my family were in floods of tears because I’d just been booed by my own players.
‘I still struggle to comprehend it so I’m probably the closest person on the planet that knows exactly what it feels like to be in Trent’s shoes right now.
‘He will be mortified. Trent will leave now knowing that people booed him and it’s hard to get that out of your head, despite what’s happened over the last 20 years.
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‘I forget a lot of the good times and just remember the booing. It makes you feel absolutely sick.’
Owen added: ‘I do question what Arne Slot will do in the remaining two games, especially the one at Anfield.
‘They were chanting about Conor Bradley and Steven Gerrard. It wasn’t the whole stadium. You will hear a minority of boos, it certainly wasn’t the whole stadium.
‘There are a lot of fans who want to thank and praise Trent for his contribution and rightly so.’

Andy Robertson, Alexander-Arnold’s team-mate of eight years, admitted it was ‘not nice’ to hear the boos.
‘But you can’t tell people how to feel,’ the Scottish defender said. ‘That’s how I feel about it and I’m not going to tell anyone else how to feel about it.
‘Disappointed to lose a good friend, he’s an amazing player and an amazing person. He has pushed me through and made me a better player.
‘His legacy will always be there, he’s done so much for this club. He will be missed for me as one of my best friends in the game.
Arne Slot reacts to Liverpool boss for Trent
‘We’ve done it all together. He’s took me to levels I never knew existed. It hasn’t been an easy one for Trent but he has made the decision.’
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, meanwhile, said when asked about the reception his right-back received: ‘Everybody can have their own opinion and you can express it in any way you want to.
‘I heard mixed opinions but the only opinion I have is I owe it to the players and fans to try to win a game of football.
‘And if Conor Bradley can’t go on because he is tired and I have Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench, I will bring him in because we want to win this game of football.
‘And he was very close for us to win it because he had two or three passes… What makes him so special, for me.
‘It is quite simple: If I want to win, I bring him in and that’s what I did. For the fans, they are entitled to have their own opinion.’
Alexander-Arnold is expected to join La Liga giants Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool.
Madrid, who look set to miss out on a trophy this season, tried to sign Alexander-Arnold in January but were knocked back by Liverpool.
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Jamie Carragher makes Trent Alexander-Arnold prediction after Anfield boos
‘Liverpool don’t need a circus.’
Arne Slot sends message to Liverpool fans after Trent Alexander-Arnold is booed in Arsenal draw
The Anfield crowd made their feelings known.
Alan Shearer tips Liverpool to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold with ex-Man Utd target
‘Offensively he’s a very, very good player.’
Real Madrid offer transfer fee to Liverpool to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold early

Real Madrid are ready to pay a transfer fee to Liverpool in order to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold for the Club World Cup this summer.
Alexander-Arnold confirmed on Monday that he will leave Liverpool on a free transfer after his contract expires at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old has already reached an agreement to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer and is set to sign a six-year contract with the Champions League holders.
However, Cadena COPE report that Madrid want to have Alexander-Arnold registered in their squad to play in their Club World Cup campaign, which starts with their opening group game against Al-Hilal on June 18.
Madrid are also due to play Mexican side Pachuca and RB Salzburg in Group H.
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Alexander-Arnold’s contract with Liverpool expires at the end of June, however, the summer transfer window will temporarily open from from June 1 to June 10 to allow teams who are participating in the Club World Cup to sign new players.
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That window would give Madrid an opportunity to sign Alexander-Arnold before the tournament starts and Cadena COPE report that the Spanish club are ready to offer a €1 million (£850,000) transfer fee to Liverpool.
By that stage, Liverpool’s season would be over as their final Premier League game is at home to Crystal Palace on May 25.
Madrid had made an attempt to sign Alexander-Arnold in the January transfer window following Dani Carvajal’s season-ending injury in October.
However, Liverpool turned down Madrid’s approach, despite the Spanish side ready to pay a £20m transfer fee.
When announcing his Liverpool exit on Monday, Alexander Arnold said: ‘After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season,’ Alexander-Arnold said.
‘This is easily the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. I know many of you have wondered why or been frustrated that I haven’t spoken about this yet.
‘But it was always my intention to keep my full focus on the team’s best interests, which was securing No.20 [the Premier League trophy].
‘This club has been my whole life – my whole world – for 20 years.
‘From the Academy right through until now, the support and love I have felt from everyone inside and outside of the club will stay with me forever.
‘I will forever be in debt to you all. But, I have never known anything else and this decision is about experiencing a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself both professionally and personally.
‘I’ve given my all every single day I’ve been at this club, and I hope you feel like I’ve given back to you during my time here.
‘From the bottom of my heart, I thank everybody – my coaches, my managers, my teammates, the staff and our incredible supporters – for the last 20 years.
‘I’ve been blessed enough to live out my dreams here and I will never, ever take for granted the special moments I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived through with you all. My love for this club will never die.’
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Trent Alexander-Arnold has broken football’s oldest rule with Real Madrid transfer

When Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool to join Real Madrid this summer, he will do so having won every major honour in football.
Winner’s medals for the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Charity Shield, Super Cup, and Club World Cup will be shipped from Merseyside to Madrid alongside the kind of knick-knacks and bric-a-brac the rest of us are used to sorting through when moving house.
Over the course of nine years since his senior debut, Alexander-Arnold has been a key component of one of the most successful teams in Liverpool’s illustrious history.
The England international has of course worked under stellar managers in that time and played alongside some of the world’s very best players, but an enormous role has undoubtedly been played by his combination of an immense level of technique scarcely shown by any full-back and his ability to make vital contributions in the most crucial moments.
When such a successful player leaves a football club after a long time, they are typically lauded and thanked for their contribution. And yet, Alexander-Arnold has been viewed by plenty of Liverpool supporters as a despicable traitor whose legacy now lies in tatters.
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Why are some Liverpool fans so angry with Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Throughout the season, speculation over Alexander-Arnold’s future has been met with consternation and antipathy from a significant proportion of Liverpool’s supporter base. When the Reds drew with Manchester United at Anfield in January, shortly after a renewed series of claims that he was likely to move to Spain for free, he was met with a barrage of booing and name-calling from fans in the stadium almost immediately after kick-off and throughout the rest of the match.
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Now that his departure from Anfield has been confirmed and a free transfer exit to Carlo Ancelotti’s side looks imminent, demands that the 26-year-old be stripped of the vice captaincy, that he should not play for the club again before the end of the campaign, and that a mural of him near to Anfield should be painted over have become commonplace online.
Alexander-Arnold must shoulder plenty of the blame for the reaction himself. In the autumn he drew criticism for telling Sky Sports that he would rather win a Ballon d’Or than another major trophy with Liverpool.
Then in December, after scoring from outside the box away at West Ham, he celebrated by putting his hand to his ear and mimicking gossip. But the speculation he was seemingly mocking only existed because he was refusing to comment on his future in public, and was indeed negotiating his own exit from his boyhood club. A gesture that seemed bizarre enough at the time is now downright incomprehensible in hindsight.

Furthermore, there is a widespread belief in football that local, home-grown players owe a far greater deal of loyalty to their club than those transferred in from elsewhere. That Alexander-Arnold is leaving Liverpool, at a point in which they seem primed for further success under Arne Slot, and on a free transfer, is a significant factor behind the ire his decision is drawing.
Why might Alexander-Arnold feel leaving Liverpool is the right thing?
Of course, it is hard to rationalise the idea that a millionaire athlete who has accomplished everything with his team could possibly owe anything more to those who have revelled in those achievements for the best of a decade.
Trent Alexander-Arnold confirms Liverpool exit
‘After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season.
‘This is easily the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. This club has been my whole life – my whole world – for 20 years.
‘From the academy right through until now, the support and love I have felt from everyone inside and outside of the club will stay with me forever. I will forever be in debt to you all.
‘But, I have never known anything else and this decision is about experiencing a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself both professionally and personally.’
Surely it must be possible for such a player to earn the right to go and try their hand at something else, to choose to live a different life, after delivering a cabinet full of trophies and a swathe of stellar days out.
Though Liverpool are well set up to kick on under Slot’s stewardship, if Alexander-Arnold were to stay at Real Madrid for ten years, it would not be unreasonable to presume that – at a bare minimum – he would win something like five league titles and three Champions Leagues, given the rate at which Los Blancos have hoovered up trophies in the 21st century so far.
The counterargument to that is, that having been born and raised in West Derby, winning less with Liverpool should carry more weight than winning near-constantly with Real Madrid. At some point Alexander-Arnold has clearly decided that, despite his roots, he doesn’t buy that argument.

And as for the lack of transfer fee, Liverpool never paid one in the first place for a player who has outperformed all others in his position for the majority of his career so far, and so the idea that he now owes them one in return is illogical.
Alexander-Arnold seems to have felt the same. Four years ago, aged 22, he decided to sign only a four-year deal with Liverpool rather than committing for even longer. That was perhaps an indicator even then that he and those around him have always been planning to be able to move for free at age 26.
More generally, not enough British footballers are willing to try their hand at playing abroad, living in another culture, and testing themselves in a different context. That Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and now Alexander-Arnold have done so in recent years is perhaps an indication that horizons are broadening among this generation of players.
What Liverpool legends have said about Trent-Alexander Arnold’s transfer
Michael Owen: ‘It’s all about personal preference because he has won everything he can at Liverpool and will already go down as a club legend. When I made the decision to leave, we weren’t as good as this current Liverpool team. From his point of view, it would be a cut off point and he would likely spend the rest of his career at Real Madrid.’
Steve McManaman: ‘If he feels as if he wants to experience a new lifestyle, new language, new culture, I’d have no qualms at all. It would be a huge miss for Liverpool but if he wants to do it, I’d completely respect him and be very proud, because he’s a local lad who has done incredibly well, which is what I love more than anything.
‘Real Madrid are a bigger, more professional, well-run machine now than when I joined. They have the new (revamped) stadium, and some of the best players in the world. Of course (fellow England international) Jude Bellingham is there, who is close to Trent. He’s won every trophy manageable with Liverpool.’
John Aldridge: ‘If he feels as if he wants to experience a new lifestyle, new language, new culture, I’d have no qualms at all. It would be a huge miss for Liverpool but if he wants to do it, I’d completely respect him and be very proud, because he’s a local lad who has done incredibly well, which is what I love more than anything.’
Is the reaction to Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid fair?
Football fandom is an inherently irrational pursuit. What a set of supporters would deem perfectly reasonable behaviour from a player at another club is so often deemed ludicrous and offensive when done by one of their own.
That is underscored by the fact that plenty of the same Liverpool supporters who are criticising Alexander-Arnold for walking out on the club he has supported since infancy now were imploring Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi to do exactly the same a year ago when the Reds were trying to buy him.
It may be juvenile and immature, but it is also the truth – football fans want everything their own way all the time. They aren’t overly concerned by logic and fairness. And if they don’t get what they want they are liable to respond with outlandish, melodramatic rhetoric, turning on those they once extolled as gods among men and kicking them to the kerb.
Alexander-Arnold is far from the first footballer to move on knowing the incredulous reaction the decision will bring about. By the end of his career, only he will know if he still believes it was the right thing to do.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold has broken football’s oldest rule with Real Madrid transfer

When Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool to join Real Madrid this summer, he will do so having won every major honour in football.
Winner’s medals for the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Charity Shield, Super Cup, and Club World Cup will be shipped from Merseyside to Madrid alongside the kind of knick-knacks and bric-a-brac the rest of us are used to sorting through when moving house.
Over the course of nine years since his senior debut, Alexander-Arnold has been a key component of one of the most successful teams in Liverpool’s illustrious history.
The England international has of course worked under stellar managers in that time and played alongside some of the world’s very best players, but an enormous role has undoubtedly been played by his combination of an immense level of technique scarcely shown by any full-back and his ability to make vital contributions in the most crucial moments.
When such a successful player leaves a football club after a long time, they are typically lauded and thanked for their contribution. And yet, Alexander-Arnold has been viewed by plenty of Liverpool supporters as a despicable traitor whose legacy now lies in tatters.
Get personalised updates on Liverpool every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Why are some Liverpool fans so angry with Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Throughout the season, speculation over Alexander-Arnold’s future has been met with consternation and antipathy from a significant proportion of Liverpool’s supporter base. When the Reds drew with Manchester United at Anfield in January, shortly after a renewed series of claims that he was likely to move to Spain for free, he was met with a barrage of booing and name-calling from fans in the stadium almost immediately after kick-off and throughout the rest of the match.
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Now that his departure from Anfield has been confirmed and a free transfer exit to Carlo Ancelotti’s side looks imminent, demands that the 26-year-old be stripped of the vice captaincy, that he should not play for the club again before the end of the campaign, and that a mural of him near to Anfield should be painted over have become commonplace online.
Alexander-Arnold must shoulder plenty of the blame for the reaction himself. In the autumn he drew criticism for telling Sky Sports that he would rather win a Ballon d’Or than another major trophy with Liverpool.
Then in December, after scoring from outside the box away at West Ham, he celebrated by putting his hand to his ear and mimicking gossip. But the speculation he was seemingly mocking only existed because he was refusing to comment on his future in public, and was indeed negotiating his own exit from his boyhood club. A gesture that seemed bizarre enough at the time is now downright incomprehensible in hindsight.

Furthermore, there is a widespread belief in football that local, home-grown players owe a far greater deal of loyalty to their club than those transferred in from elsewhere. That Alexander-Arnold is leaving Liverpool, at a point in which they seem primed for further success under Arne Slot, and on a free transfer, is a significant factor behind the ire his decision is drawing.
Why might Alexander-Arnold feel leaving Liverpool is the right thing?
Of course, it is hard to rationalise the idea that a millionaire athlete who has accomplished everything with his team could possibly owe anything more to those who have revelled in those achievements for the best of a decade.
Trent Alexander-Arnold confirms Liverpool exit
‘After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season.
‘This is easily the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. This club has been my whole life – my whole world – for 20 years.
‘From the academy right through until now, the support and love I have felt from everyone inside and outside of the club will stay with me forever. I will forever be in debt to you all.
‘But, I have never known anything else and this decision is about experiencing a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself both professionally and personally.’
Surely it must be possible for such a player to earn the right to go and try their hand at something else, to choose to live a different life, after delivering a cabinet full of trophies and a swathe of stellar days out.
Though Liverpool are well set up to kick on under Slot’s stewardship, if Alexander-Arnold were to stay at Real Madrid for ten years, it would not be unreasonable to presume that – at a bare minimum – he would win something like five league titles and three Champions Leagues, given the rate at which Los Blancos have hoovered up trophies in the 21st century so far.
The counterargument to that is, that having been born and raised in West Derby, winning less with Liverpool should carry more weight than winning near-constantly with Real Madrid. At some point Alexander-Arnold has clearly decided that, despite his roots, he doesn’t buy that argument.

And as for the lack of transfer fee, Liverpool never paid one in the first place for a player who has outperformed all others in his position for the majority of his career so far, and so the idea that he now owes them one in return is illogical.
Alexander-Arnold seems to have felt the same. Four years ago, aged 22, he decided to sign only a four-year deal with Liverpool rather than committing for even longer. That was perhaps an indicator even then that he and those around him have always been planning to be able to move for free at age 26.
More generally, not enough British footballers are willing to try their hand at playing abroad, living in another culture, and testing themselves in a different context. That Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and now Alexander-Arnold have done so in recent years is perhaps an indication that horizons are broadening among this generation of players.
What Liverpool legends have said about Trent-Alexander Arnold’s transfer
Michael Owen: ‘It’s all about personal preference because he has won everything he can at Liverpool and will already go down as a club legend. When I made the decision to leave, we weren’t as good as this current Liverpool team. From his point of view, it would be a cut off point and he would likely spend the rest of his career at Real Madrid.’
Steve McManaman: ‘If he feels as if he wants to experience a new lifestyle, new language, new culture, I’d have no qualms at all. It would be a huge miss for Liverpool but if he wants to do it, I’d completely respect him and be very proud, because he’s a local lad who has done incredibly well, which is what I love more than anything.
‘Real Madrid are a bigger, more professional, well-run machine now than when I joined. They have the new (revamped) stadium, and some of the best players in the world. Of course (fellow England international) Jude Bellingham is there, who is close to Trent. He’s won every trophy manageable with Liverpool.’
John Aldridge: ‘If he feels as if he wants to experience a new lifestyle, new language, new culture, I’d have no qualms at all. It would be a huge miss for Liverpool but if he wants to do it, I’d completely respect him and be very proud, because he’s a local lad who has done incredibly well, which is what I love more than anything.’
Is the reaction to Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid fair?
Football fandom is an inherently irrational pursuit. What a set of supporters would deem perfectly reasonable behaviour from a player at another club is so often deemed ludicrous and offensive when done by one of their own.
That is underscored by the fact that plenty of the same Liverpool supporters who are criticising Alexander-Arnold for walking out on the club he has supported since infancy now were imploring Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi to do exactly the same a year ago when the Reds were trying to buy him.
It may be juvenile and immature, but it is also the truth – football fans want everything their own way all the time. They aren’t overly concerned by logic and fairness. And if they don’t get what they want they are liable to respond with outlandish, melodramatic rhetoric, turning on those they once extolled as gods among men and kicking them to the kerb.
Alexander-Arnold is far from the first footballer to move on knowing the incredulous reaction the decision will bring about. By the end of his career, only he will know if he still believes it was the right thing to do.
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