Liverpool ace Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t deserve to be booed for seeking next career move

Liverpool born and bred, a local player who lived the dream, winning every major honour with his boyhood club, and now leaving – not to join a rival side in the same league, but heading to the most iconic club in the world.

Does that tug at your heart strings? Sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it? A little Goal-esque? 

However you frame it in your head, if your reaction to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure is one of pride or empathy, then you could be in the minority. 

Regarded as one of the best right-backs in the world, the Englishman, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has announced that he is leaving the Reds. It is an open secret by now that his next destination is Real Madrid. 

Most Liverpool fans are not swelling with pride. It is fair to say that the news has not gone down well with the Red half of Merseyside and Liverpool fans around the globe. Fans are upset that one of their club’s most valuable assets, who is at the peak of his powers, will be leaving on a free transfer. 

On social media and in WhatsApp groups, it is a contest of who has the harshest of takes. Amid all the vitriol, not many of the choice words used can make the cut for print. 

But one does: Judas. 

Why has it come to this?

It is important to set the context of what Alexander-Arnold means to the Reds’ faithful. He first joined the club’s academy at the age of six. Today, he is 26, amassed over 350 appearances and won the Champions League, two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Uefa Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

While it is unclear when and whether the club had offered him a fresh contract, the fact is this: In 2021, the fullback penned a new four-year deal with the club.

In the last two years, the club had time to sort out another extension and tie him down on a deal long enough to prevent him from being lost on a free transfer.

But it seems that they got distracted by a major upheaval behind the scenes. Former sporting director Julian Ward had stepped down in the summer of 2023 and then Jurgen Klopp, the much-loved manager, announced in January 2024 that he, too, would exit.

The Athletic has reported that talks over a new contract for Alexander-Arnold were initiated, with an opening offer made in April 2024. Big European clubs would have also been tipped off by then that one of the world’s best players could be available on a free. It is naive to think they would not have made advances then.

And so it seems, Alexander-Arnold’s head was turned.

Why would it not, when it is a club like Real?

Why would it not, when you have already won all there is to win and there is a chance to leave on the ultimate high? Winning the English Premier League, the 20th top-flight title which meant the Reds equal Manchester United’s record for most English league titles.

It could well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join Real.

And now, when he’s achieved everything he set out to do and is seeking a fresh impetus, our instinct is to boo?

We can do better than that. Liverpool fans can do better than that. This is not betrayal. Not by any stretch. It is the next chapter in what has already been a storied career.

Surely if there is any blame to go around, it should be levelled at the hierarchy for not planning ahead? The ultimate truth is that after all his service, Alexander-Arnold owes the club nothing. He’s already given his all and should walk out of Anfield with pats on the back, not knives stuck into it.

For the self-proclaimed football romantics who pour scorn over how Alexander-Arnold is not the one-club man they have dreamt of, it is important to acknowledge that footballers sticking to one club through their career is a rarity these days.

Not everyone is Francesco Totti or Ryan Giggs. To think all hometown heroes would turn out the same way is going down a slippery slope. 

Alexander-Arnold should and can forge his own path. 

Ultimately, the lasting memory of his time at Anfield will always be the “corner taken quickly” moment. His swift corner kick that allowed Divock Origi to seal Liverpool’s dramatic comeback victory over Barcelona in the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals will forever be etched in Anfield folklore.

Don’t let hasty judgments rewrite the legacy of a generational talent who served the club with heart and class.

You’ll Never Walk Alone is not just for those that currently put on the famous red kit, it should also be extended to those who produced memories that will live long in your hearts and minds.

Just as Kylian Mbappe should be smacking his lips at the thought of being at the end of Alexander-Arnold’s crosses, I am looking forward to seeing what the Englishman serves up at Santiago Bernabeu.