It’s fair to say the reaction to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s reported decision to join Real Madrid from Liverpool has been mixed.
Reports emerged last week suggesting Alexander-Arnold has decided to join Real Madrid and rejected the opportunity to stay with his boyhood club.
Many of Liverpool’s online fanbase have since been critical of the move, questioning Alexander-Arnold’s loyalty to a club he has been at since the age of six.
While his signing with Los Blancos has not yet been confirmed, replacing Alexander-Arnold will be a mammoth task for Arne Slot if he does indeed depart for the La Liga giants.
Alan Shearer says Alexander-Arnold deserves a ‘great send-off’
The reports have generated plenty of discussion in the football media, with many pundits leaping to the defence of Alexander-Arnold.
Premier League legend Alan Shearer is part of that group and has questioned the response of some Liverpool fans given Alexander-Arnold’s achievements with the club.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer said: “I don’t get the criticism. He’s entitled to do whatever he wants, he’s given that football club absolutely everything.
“Yes, he’s on a good salary, but he’s won everything. If he wants to challenge himself by going abroad and playing for Real Madrid, then so be it. They turned a bid down for him in January, so they could’ve made money on him.
“He’s played what, 350 games ish, and he’s always given his best. They should give him a great send-off.”
Gary Lineker says Real Madrid move is ‘difficult to turn down’
Shearer hosts the podcast alongside former England striker Gary Lineker, who knows the pressure that comes with playing for one of Spain’s giants.
Lineker joined Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona from Everton in 1986 and spent three years at the Nou Camp before departing for Tottenham.
Like Shearer, Lineker also expressed his sympathy for Alexander-Arnold’s decision to join Real Madrid.
He said: “I don’t mind saying I think it’ll be an absolutely fabulous move for him. To play for Real Madrid is something that is very difficult to turn down.
“He’s been at Liverpool since he was a kid, it transcends him into another level when you’re playing for a club like that. It’ll be absolutely brilliant for him.”
Alexander-Arnold is currently nursing an ankle injury which is expected to rule him out until the end of April.
Should he opt to depart, his last game for Liverpool will be against Crystal Palace on the final day of the Premier League season.
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