Sam McGuire: Trent sold his soul and lost his identity | OneFootball

I think a lot of people are now being purposely obtuse when it comes to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“You’ll never walk alone, unless you decide to try something new with Real Madrid, eh???”

“He’s done nothing wrong. He didn’t cost the club a thing. He’s decided not to renew his contract and he’s not going to a rival. Wish him good luck and stop being so bitter.”

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Some will no doubt be looking for a reaction. Others will genuinely think fans are just resentful that he’s decided to go elsewhere. We’re basically seeing the whole ‘Liverpool bad’ thing play out right before our eyes. Because, if we’re being completely honest, Alexander-Arnold should be called out for how he’s handled his departure.

The media shouldn’t be playing it down. Jurgen Klopp, as much as I love him, shouldn’t have involved himself in this either. He can’t be telling people how to feel. Especially when he’s not the most objective person either. Ultimately, he isn’t a fan, so he shouldn’t be dictating what supporters can and cannot do in these situations.

He’s able to distance himself from these things too. He didn’t show any resentment towards Mario Gotze or Robert Lewandowski when they left Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich. The pair weakened Klopp’s BVB, moving to a direct rival, and he wasn’t that bothered. In fact, he wanted a reunion with Gotze at Anfield. Now he’s putting in a good word for Pep Lijnders to join Manchester City.

I’m not saying he should hold a grudge but it’s quite clear his loyalty lies with the players he’s coached rather than the fans he’s served. And that’s fine, it is his choice. But he’s not like us. His judgement here is about as welcome as a rival, a pundit or a journalist piping up to offer their opinion.

While we’re here, Klopp is a bit of a hypocrite too. During his first press conference as Liverpool manager, he said: "It's not important what people think when you come in, it's much more important what people think when you leave."

Upon his departure, people thought Alexander-Arnold was a rat. So why does it matter what he’s actually achieved with the club? It doesn’t. Not right now. Maybe his time here will be viewed differently in a few years but it’s raw at the minute and fans are, rightly, emotional.

But the emotion comes from feeling betrayed rather than his actual departure.

We’ve been lied to for well over a year.

The former No66 orchestrated the entire situation. The four-year deal in 2021. The reluctance to commit to the club even when he was made a priority by the incoming Richard Hughes. The weird celebrations this season. The gaslighting of fans. The ego on him with the whole ‘Summer of 66’ leaving party, as well as the posts following the trophy parade declaring it was a ‘perfect send-off’. The awkward looking, staged goodbye in the training video.

Liverpool won the 2024/25 Premier League in spite of him, not because of him.

His showing against Manchester United at Anfield in the 2-2 was probably the worst individual performance of the season. A big game. At Anfield. With the team chasing for the title. He’s the Vice-Captain and he’s losing his head. He cost us a win. There’s no other way to dress it up.

Arne Slot even called him out.

"He is going to leave either way, so why not tell you! Maybe it is already the first gift I can give [prospective Real Madrid boss] Xabi Alonso," Slot laughed. "I wasn't completely happy with every single minute he was on the training ground. In certain moments, he could do a bit more – to say it mildly. That's what we talked about.”

The current manager, the man who guided us to our 20th league title in his debut season with the club, wasn’t happy with his showing in training.

No surprise really, he’s not been focused on Liverpool. He’s been preparing for the move to Real Madrid. The move he only decided on in March, apparently. Odd that he’s now fairly fluent in Spanish, isn’t it?

He slipped up in his first press conference for Real Madrid too, saying he’d been waiting for a long time for this, before trying to clarify he meant just a couple of weeks. The more he lies, the worse this looks.

I still maintain that had he just owned this decision last summer and said he was leaving, this all would’ve played out differently.

There would’ve been a bitterness to begin with but as the season progressed, he would’ve gotten a bit of a farewell tour. Instead, he hid from his decision until the last minute and hoped the title win would allow him an easier exit.

The four-year deal with Liverpool in 2021 combined with the six-year deal with Madrid and the fact he’s speaking Spanish tell you everything you need to know about him. This wasn’t a difficult decision. This wasn’t a decision that kept him up at night. It wasn’t a last-minute decision. It was meticulously planned.

He’s all about his brand now. The switch to Trent on the shirt. The changing of his Instagram handle. He wants to be an individual. He wants to distance himself from his past. He wants to distance himself from his roots. TAA66 was iconic at Liverpool. It might sound extreme but that person no longer exists.