“Why are they booing him? He’s leaving for a non-rival?”
That’s been the question on many non-Liverpool fans’ lips since Trent Alexander-Arnold was jeered by thousands of Reds supporters inside Anfield on Sunday.
The right-back started the clash against Arsenal on the bench, with Arne Slot favoring Conor Bradley as he tries to figure out whether the Northern Irish youngster is robust enough to stand up to the rigors of regular soccer. But in minute 66 — coincidentally the number that Alexander-Arnold has donned throughout his Reds career — the Liverpudlian was called on to make what could well be his final appearance for the club he has represented for 21 years.
Prior to the Arsenal game, Slot probably wouldn’t have been thinking that way, but after witnessing what transpired on Sunday, he is probably wondering whether it’s worth using Alexander-Arnold again this season.
There are two more games between now and the end of the campaign, away to Brighton and at home to Crystal Palace, and Liverpool does not need to win either of them.
The title was secured over a fortnight ago, and this period should be one of celebration; instead, Liverpool’s title success threatens being overshadowed by the Alexander-Arnold sideshow. The fact of the matter is: he’s leaving, there’s no going back, and everyone needs to move on.
The boos he was subjected to, though, should not have come as a huge surprise, despite what a number of pundits and ex-players have said in the 24 hours since they rang out around Anfield.
(Image: 2025 Liverpool FC)
The main bone of contention that supporters have with Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool is that he is doing so for free, having allowed his contract to run down. That means that the club will not receive a fee for a player who has market value of $85 million.
On top of that is the fact that he has chosen to join Real Madrid, a team that Liverpool has lost two Champions League finals to in the last few years.
Referring to Real Madrid and Manchester City in an interview with Sky earlier this season, he said, “they are our two biggest rivals in Europe and domestically over the last five or six years.”
As well as those two European finals in 2018 and 2022, Real Madrid also eliminated Liverpool from the Champions League over two-legged affairs in 2021 and 2023.
Alexander-Arnold has as good as said it himself: he’s joining one of Liverpool’s biggest rivals — and to make matters even worse, the Reds aren’t receiving a cent from the deal.
The boos should not have surprised anybody.
