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But Trent Alexander-Arnold, the lifelong Liverpool supporter who joined the club as a six-year-old, seems set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.

It's safe to say that will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the supporters who have delighted in seeing one of their own rise through the ranks and win every major honour there is to win at club level.

That much is clear given the reaction to yesterday's news that Madrid are working to finalise a pre-contract agreement with Alexander-Arnold, whose current deal at Liverpool runs out at the end of the season.



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It's only the morning after you retire that you're able to look at yourself in the mirror and say you've given it everything you have got.

“It doesn't matter how many trophies you win or medals you have got, it matters about what you have given to the game and if you reach your full potential.

I've heard potential being thrown around with my name since the age of six.

“If you reach that potential and you know you have and you've given everything to maximise that potential and be the player you believe you can be, which is one of the best ever, then you'll be happy.

That's where I believe my ceiling can go."

The mood music appears to suggest that it is Real Madrid, the 15-time European champions, where Alexander-Arnold believes he can take the next step.

And perhaps the England international feels he need to leave the Premier League behind to hit the 'ceiling' he talked about?

While adored by Liverpool supporters, perhaps he is sick of being singled out by the television pundits for his supposed deficiencies at both club and international level.

And, yes, there is the irony of moving to the Spanish capital, where the glare is the most intense, but too often the condemnation in this country has felt over the top for a footballer who has helped redefine what it is to be a full-back.

While there are certainly better defensive full-backs out there, there are few if any who can replicate what Alexander-Arnold does going forward as the Reds' recruitment will no doubt already be aware.

And there's the rub.

Given he still has his best years ahead of him, and given he is valued at £75m (per transfermarkt), that is a travesty, and that is the reason why the criticism he is currently receiving and will receive from his fellow fans will be the most stinging and could hurt the most.