Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher forcefully defended the Anfield crowd’s hostile reception of Trent Alexander-Arnold, explaining that fans felt as though they had been “hoodwinked” by the academy graduate.
Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool for Real Madrid under a cloud of controversy last summer. The boyhood Reds fan allowed his contract to expire, inciting the fury of a fanbase which had adored the immensely talented homegrown player.
Liverpool fans vehemently booed Alexander-Arnold after the news of his imminent departure broke at the end of last season. The hostility had not been quelled over the subsequent six months. A mural dedicated to the proud Scouser was defaced ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday night, with the words “adios el rata”—grammatically incorrect Spanish for “goodbye rat”—spray-painted along the bottom.
Xabi Alonso only afforded Alexander-Arnold nine minutes of action off the bench during the 1–0 defeat, yet each of his 10 touches were drowned out with whistles and boos.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel labelled the treatment Alexander-Arnold had received from his former fans “disgusting” during CBS Sports’ coverage. “He's won every trophy and given them 20 years of his career. He should be welcomed back as a hero.”
Schmeichel’s fellow pundit and a former Liverpool icon in his own right, Carragher, offered a strong counterpoint. “I don’t agree with what you said there. Supporters decide what type of reaction he gets. The reason why it will be poor is because Trent, throughout those 20 years, has played the position of ‘I’m a supporter on the pitch.’
“The supporters in the stadium wouldn’t leave on a free transfer and go and play for Real Madrid. O.K., it’s his career and he only gets one. He’s a young man and he’s been brilliantly successful.
“But what he’s said since he got in the Liverpool team, if that were to be true, that Liverpool is the only team for him and he wants to be captain and be a legend here, then you don’t leave when you’ve just won the league title and you’ve got the opportunity to go and win more trophies with your club.
“You join a club that’s beaten you twice in the Champions League final and they’re the club you want to compete more to win more Champions Leagues? I totally understand the reaction of the supporters.
“A lot of it is because they feel they’ve been hoodwinked a little bit by Trent throughout the process of him being at the club and also in the last year, where he hasn’t done any media interviews or said anything.
“There was talk around him, [Mohamed] Salah and [Virgil] Van Dijk—who were both coming out constantly in the press saying they want to stay. Trent was very silent on the issue—and that’s where the frustration comes from for supporters.”
Thibaut Courtois Defends Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold’s former Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk offered little consolation while Madrid manager Xabi Alonso dismissed the treatment as “typical.” Thibaut Courtois belatedly offered some consolation.
“It’s a pity,” Madrid’s impressive goalkeeper sighed to beIN Sports. “Obviously, I’m not judging the fans, they’re entitled to their own opinion. But he’s a young kid who played all his career with Liverpool, and we only have one career, and we all have dreams.
“I hope that the fans can forgive him in the longer term, and eventually he can come back, and they’ll honour him for all the trophies he won.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Hoodwinked’—Trent Alexander Arnold Boos Justified by Liverpool Legend.