Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid has felt inevitable all season, even if we held onto some lingering hope, it has felt only a matter of time before a legacy-changing decision was made.
A dark cloud has overshadowed what promises to be a historic season under Arne Slot, with it still not known for certain whether three key players will be at Anfield next season.
While Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk have spoken openly about their desire to remain, Alexander-Arnold has instead remained quiet, allowing the Real Madrid media juggernaut to run the show.
On Tuesday, various reports emerged in quick succession over Alexander-Arnold’s future, with the general consensus that Liverpool’s vice-captain is close to joining the Spanish champions.
If he does move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer, as expected, it will widely be seen among supporters as a betrayal and a legacy-tainting move, understandably so.
Is the criticism of Trent justified?
If you want a direct answer to that question, yes. Absolutely.
A player in his prime wanting to sign for a European powerhouse who wins a trophy every year, has players consistently in contention for the Ballon d’Or and stands to earn eye-watering wages, you can understand the why.
The difference here is Alexander-Arnold is a Scouser, a lifelong supporter who came through the academy to lift every trophy possible and currently holds the title as the club’s vice-captain.
The difference here is that Liverpool are the best team in the country, he has run down his contract and will leave for nothing after the club helped him become who he is, all the while allowing his situation to be played out in the press.
“I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say,” Alexander-Arnold said in September, the only time he has directly addressed his future this season.
“I have been at the club 20 years now. I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public – and this one won’t be either.”
The issue with that Trent is that the commentary has instead unfolded consistently in the Spanish press, with your silence only unsettling our club as you hide behind the scenes.
Leaving Liverpool is not the issue, it is how it has been handled and how Alexander-Arnold is willing to deny the club a significant transfer fee all the while banking his own signing-on fee.
Let’s not forget that Liverpool are his boyhood club, that he is idolised, and that he claims winning as a Red means more than for any other club.
“Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially,” Alexander-Arnold said when comparing Liverpool and Man City‘s success.
“How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it, probably means more to our fans.”
Although he did undo those words in October when he chose the option of winning the Ballon d’Or over being Liverpool captain, an individual award he doesn’t stand to win at Anfield – and let’s be honest, there’s zero guarantee of it in Madrid either.
The writing was instantly on the wall that day.
For wider context, let’s not forget even Alexis Mac Allister signed an extension with Brighton that included a buyout clause so that he would not be leaving them empty-handed in the summer he landed at Anfield for £35 million.
We can debate and argue about the club’s role in all of this too, that they should not have allowed it to get to this stage and that their lack of long-term planning is damning.
Both sides of the argument have merit with each at fault.
But the majority of the criticism has to be owned by Alexander-Arnold and his advisors, who would be naive to think his legacy at Anfield will not be tainted by the act of betrayal.
A legacy altering decision
There is no avoiding it. If Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool for Real Madrid as a free agent it will reflect on his legacy at Anfield and not for the better.
The right-back has done it all at Liverpool and has earned the right to call himself one of the most decorated players in the club’s modern era, but he will not be looked back on fondly regardless.
Jamie Carragher hit the nail on the head when he recently asked “does Trent want to be Steven Gerrard or Steve McManaman?”
“It was not so much Macca’s departure that damaged his legacy at Liverpool as the fact that the club earned no fee on a player who had for years been one of the Premier League‘s best attacking midfielders,” Carragher explained.
The line between leaving with adoration and a lack of fondness is incredibly thin. But Alexander-Arnold is throwing away a lifetime of work to become just another player at Madrid.
Let’s remind ourselves what Steven Gerrard had to say after flirting with a switch to Chelsea, he said: “It would mean an awful lot more to be successful at Liverpool than it would at any other club.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I might have won more medals somewhere else but if I was to win the League here, along with a few more cups, that would mean a lot more than winning seven or eight trophies somewhere else.”
Not too dissimilar from Alexander-Arnold’s ‘means more’ comments, is it?
What next?
If you ask the majority of Liverpool supporters, they will tell you they would have preferred the 26-year-old to come out and own his decision at the earliest opportunity, minimising the damage.
It shows respect and as a local player whose ultimate ambition should be to play for Liverpool, he could have still shown loyalty by guaranteeing his club a fee all the while getting what he wants.
There have been obvious ways to navigate all of this, and yet he has still managed to shoot himself in the foot – all the while throwing in some atrocious performances.
We have been hit hard with losses of the likes of Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Fernando Torres and Michael Owen in the past, but the club had shown they could not compete and match their ambitions.
Alexander-Arnold does not have the same justification to fall back on. He is destined to wear the armband at Anfield and become one of the greatest ever, but that will all disappear.
You cannot erase what he has achieved but he can certainly taint it, and the question now will be how involved he is in the remainder of the season when he is back from injury.
Will he feature prominently even with his future destined elsewhere? Will he turn up for the parade? How will he be received at the ground? Will the club try and plan a grand farewell?
Just the thoughts and questions you want to have when on the cusp of celebrating our first league title in front of fans in more than 35 years.
The task of replacing him will be no easy feat and although there is a lot up in the air when it comes to Alexander-Arnold, one thing has to be for certain, that he owns the decision he makes and accepts the consequences, whatever they may be.
He cannot have the best of both worlds and if he does not realise that now, he will soon.
