Liverpool accused of rolling out the red carpet for Real Madrid to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold | OneFootball

Liverpool have been described as having rolled out the ‘red carpet’ for Real Madrid to clinch their transfer deal for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The England international, who is due to be out of contract at Anfield this summer, is now widely reported as being close to finalising a move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer.

Melissa Reddy has written about the Alexander-Arnold situation for Sky Sports, and admits it doesn’t look great from a Liverpool perspective.

A combination of factors made it easier for Real to swoop for Alexander-Arnold, but all in all it sounds like chaos inside Anfield contributed to this outcome.

How Liverpool lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold with Arne Slot during Liverpool vs Lille (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Providing her insight into the deal, Reddy said: “There has been an acceptance that the contract sagas – him, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah – materialised out of their own off-pitch inertia, due to upheaval at sporting director level, and then Klopp’s decision to leave.

“Liverpool didn’t just open the door for Real Madrid’s charm offensive, they rolled the red carpet out and the Spanish giants have happily walked on it for two years, before really ratcheting up their interest ahead of last summer.

“The club have made Alexander-Arnold lucrative offers to remain, but they understand the attraction of a new challenge, a fresh life and lifestyle experience, and the lure of being a Real player.”

Alexander-Arnold should be a great signing for Real Madrid and will be greatly missed by Liverpool once he goes at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old had been with LFC for his entire career up to now, but won’t be staying loyal to the club in the way that Steven Gerrard notably did as he spent almost his entire career at Anfield despite opportunities from a host of top European clubs.