Who is to blame for Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool?

After months of speculation, the 26-year-old is closing in on a free transfer to Real Madrid.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

Liverpool sources remain tight-lipped on the matter, but it now seems inevitable that, after months of speculation, Trent Alexander-Arnold will make the move to Real Madrid.

Yet, while confirmation that he will depart on a free transfer at the end of the season will inevitably lead to anger and recriminations among supporters, this is not a situation where blame is so easily assigned to a single party.

Clearly, Liverpool could have been more proactive in opening talks over a new contract earlier, with Jurgen Klopp’s increased influence over recruitment and the resulting revolving door of sporting directors allowing long-term planning to fall by the wayside.

It is for this reason that both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk find themselves in the position to also potentially leave on a free this summer.

However, you wonder whether a steady presence in that role would have made much difference anyway when it comes to convincing a player who wouldn’t be leaving simply to chase the money.

It is noteworthy that, upon signing his last contract extension in 2021, Alexander-Arnold agreed only to another four years - shorter than the club would typically be comfortable with.

That now looks an astute call from the player given that, for the last 12 months, he has had his boyhood club and arguably the biggest institution in world football locked in a battle for his services before eventually opting for the latter.

That said, Alexander-Arnold might not feel so fortunate over the coming weeks if the early social media reaction to his imminent move is anything to go by.

It is understandably difficult for lifelong Liverpool fans to comprehend how a local lad who is part of a genuinely competitive team might not wish to stay for life.

But you only get one career and, as magical as Anfield is, staying put would be to reject an entirely different cultural experience, life in warmer climes, and the profile boost that comes with representing Real Madrid.

And is it entirely fair to expect anyone to turn down that opportunity simply because of their birthplace?

Others are most frustrated by Liverpool being left unable to collect a transfer fee for a player developed in the club’s academy from the age of six.

But it seems obvious that Real Madrid would not have pursued him were they required to pay a fee, and it hardly saved Michael Owen’s reputation that he did not leave for nothing.

And what about Trent’s stated desire to one day wear the armband? Well, those comments always did have an air of paying lip service.

The 26-year-old is a unique talent, but he has never seemed like a natural captain in the Steven Gerrard mould given his generally aloof nature and reluctance to take on media duties.

And perhaps there were clues in that tendency to avoid journalists going into overdrive this season, when uncomfortable questions regarding his future would so clearly have been on the agenda.

Ultimately, though, any criticisms of Alexander-Arnold based around ‘loyalty’ will be steeped in hypocrisy given that fans of all clubs cannot wait to see the back of players who fail.

When that is the case, are they really owed something by the ones who, during their stay, have brought trophies and success, particularly if they cost nothing in the first place?

Opinions are likely to differ, of course, but there is no denying that Trent has been a key architect of Liverpool’s recent return to the summit of the English game.

And though that is unlikely to guarantee a warm send-off, he surely deserves more than vilification from fans once the initial pain has worn off.

Real Madrid move or not, Alexander-Arnold will always remain, in his own words, “a normal lad from Liverpool whose dreams came true”.