Michael Owen has told Liverpool fans how they should be reacting to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit – after doing the same himself.
The Reds defender and vice captain revealed he will be leaving his boyhood club at the end of the season on a free transfer, with it widely expected he will join best friend Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold, 26, wrote on social media that it was ‘easily the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life’ and the the club ‘has been my whole life – my whole world – for 20 years’.
Still, he will indeed depart the club, with Reds fans have been split in their reaction, with some offering support while others have criticised the move.
One fan was seen burning a shirt with Alexander-Arnold’s name on it, with the 26-year-old yet to play for Liverpool since announcing the news.
Now, former Liverpool forward Owen, who also left the club for Real Madrid, has given his view on the decision.
Michael Owen has hailed the ‘beauty’ of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s impending Liverpool exit
Alexander-Arnold will leave his boyhood club this summer and is expected to join Real Madrid
Owen, who raised his eyebrows after having it pointed out to him that Alexander-Arnold was ‘kind of mirroring what you did’, told ITV Racing: ‘Who can criticise him? I know there will be one or two people that will but he has been there, seen it, done it, nd won absolutely everything that the game has got to offer.
‘If he wants to go nd try something new for his family and for him to do something different in his life, I’ve got no problem.’
Owen too played for Liverpool, starring for the club after joining before he was a teenager and making well over 200 appearances before departing in 2004.
He then left Anfield for Real Madrid after winning the likes of the Ballon d’Or at Anfield, but returned to the Premier League after a year when he joined Newcastle.
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Having also joined Manchester United later in his career, Owen too received backlash from Liverpool fans, but insisted they should be thankful of Alexander-Arnold’s time at the club.
‘It’s different and that’s the beauty of it,’ he said. ‘You go to different countries and there is different food, different weather, different languages, different football, a new stadium, a white kit and not red. There is a lot of difference.
‘It’s easy for me to say. I know half the fans will be screaming at the tele, but, if I was a Liverpool fan I would be saying “Thank you for your service, you have been incredible, won everything, good luck and we wish you well”.
‘Football is different to anything else. If you can get higher in your job everyone says well done, but if it’s football you are a traitor and this and that which is quite sad.’
