Liverpool Chief Breaks Silence on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid Move | OneFootball

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has revealed that the club “respects” Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to run down his contract and join Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold decided in recent months that the time was right for a new challenge, opting against signing a new contract at Anfield. It sparked fury among sections of the fan base, with his loyalty to his boyhood club called into question given that he would be moving on as a free agent.

In the end, Liverpool did manage to bank some cash due to Real Madrid’s desire to have Trent Alexander-Arnold join them in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, but it was a nominal amount compared to what a player of his standing would be worth under contract.

Liverpool quickly moved on, signing Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen as part of a wider record-breaking spending spree off the back of winning the Premier League title.

“We do respect the fact that Trent has moved on,” Werner told the Liverpool Echo.

Alexander-Arnold is now playing under an other ex-Liverpool star, Xabi Alonso. / IMAGO/Sportimage

“I told someone recently this story about seeing Trent on the last weekend of the season, with Billy [Hogan, CEO] and I just wanted him to know from me personally we are and were as a club thankful for all his contributions. He showed me a picture when he was seven years old, when he was a young kid at the academy, and I have a lot of fondness for all that he has done and so it is time for him to move and time for us to replace him.

“We do wish him well and I understand the emotions of supporters who were disappointed and we were disappointed too but it is overshadowed by my wonderful memories of him.

“I’ll never forget that pass he made, the corner, for the fourth goal against Barcelona [in 2019]. That was just a work of genius and as a football fan, watching some of his assists, the way he would pass the ball 30-plus yards to a specific point and create a goal was just...[speechless].

“...no wonder Real Madrid are delighted!”