LIVERPOOL boss Arne Slot has sent a parting warning to Real Madrid about Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Slot, 46, has also hinted that the right-back WON’T get a huge send-off in his last-ever game at Anfield on the final day of the season.
The academy graduate will depart his beloved Reds after 20 years at the club at the end of the campaign.
The 26-year-old is expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer in a move that has left most Liverpool fans fuming.
Up until now Slot has remained neutral on the matter, repeatedly saying: “Everyone is free to have their own opinion.”
But the Dutchman appears to have made a U-turn on his promise to play Alexander-Arnold in his final days at the club.
Slot has come out and said that Alexander-Arnold has struggled in training and needs to up his game defensively.
He said: “He’s going to leave anyway so why not, it might be the first gift I can give Xabi Alonso.
“I wasn’t completely happy with every single minute he was on the training ground.
“In my opinion there were certain moments he could do more, to put it mildly.
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“I told him he’s a much better defender than people think, but you don’t show it all the time.”
The England international was an unused sub during Liverpool‘s latest 3-2 defeat to Brighton at the Amex, where he looked emotional after receiving a mixed reception from the away end.
Slot hasn’t decided if the defender will play against Crystal Palace, before Liverpool lift the title on Sunday.
It comes after Alexander-Arnold was loudly booed by Liverpool fans after coming on against Arsenal on May 11.
Liverpool have generally been supportive, with Mohamed Salah telling Gary Neville that “the fans were being harsh with him” and “he didn’t deserve it”.
And Dominik Szoboszlai questioned the home fans on the pitch after Alexander-Arnold received a hostile reception against Arsenal.
Alexander-Arnold is known as one of the best passers in world football and is set to be confirmed as a Madrid player in due course.
Madrid have cheekily asked Liverpool to release him for free so he can play in the group stages of the Club World Cup.
His contract expires on June 30, with Madrid heading out Stateside for the Club World Cup, which gets underway on June 14.
There, he will join up with international team-mate and best pal Jude Bellingham, but it still remains to be seen if he’ll get a proper goodbye.
Meanwhile, former Anfield ace Alonso, who recently left Bayer Leverkusen, hasn’t been officially named as Carlo Ancelotti‘s successor either.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool exit interview
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD spoke to Liverpool’s in-house club media to explain his decision to leave Anfield.
Here are the key parts…
I think first and foremost, I want to say it’s not an easy decision and there’s a lot of thought and feeling that has gone into it. I’ve been here 20 years now, loved every single minute of it, achieved all my dreams, achieved everything I’ve ever wanted to here. Giving everything day in, day out for 20 years, I’ve got to a point now where I feel like I need a change, a new challenge for me as a player and as a person. And I think now is the right time for me to do that.
Obviously there’s been a lot of noise around what the decision was going to be and how that was going to look. I know a lot of people will say I should have said sooner, a lot of people will say maybe I waited for the right time. But I felt personally the focus should always be on the pitch.
I’ve got full confidence in the manager and the staff and the club going forward. It’s not about me thinking we’re not going to fight for titles or fight for trophies season in, season out… it was never about not having confidence in that, it just boiled down to what I felt I needed, and that is a change.
Growing up, seeing players leave that I’ve loved watching and have helped the team win trophies, you feel a connection to the players that you watch, especially when they bring success to the club as well. So, I completely understand the feelings that go with that and I’ve felt it myself so I completely understand that the news will disappoint a lot of people, will anger people, it will make them upset. Obviously that went into the decision as well – it’s something you don’t want to do, you don’t want to ever have these moments where you feel like you’re letting a lot of people down, you’re disappointing a lot of people. But I’ve had to make a decision for me, it’s as simple as that. It’s a difficult one, it’s one that has played on my mind for a long time but being able now to get it off my chest will feel like a weight is lifted. And I think it’s important for the fans to know where I stand and know what the truth is.
I fell in love with the club from a very, very young age and that’s something that has grown and grown day in, day out. This club has given me the opportunities to achieve everything beyond my wildest dreams. I can never repay enough of what’s been given to me and I don’t take it for granted at all. I’ve given everything every single day for 20 years now. I’ve sacrificed everything.
I know the news will take a bit of time to set in and people won’t be happy and they’ll be disappointed. At the end of the day, you can be angry and hurt at me but I just hope that the lads, the rest of the team, the staff, everyone else is able to feel how good a season this has been and able to feel the love and support from the fans as they have done all season.
There’s no doubt about it, I’ll be back – I’d love one day to be able to bring my kids to Anfield and show them that that’s where I’ve played and show them the videos and highlights of what we were able to achieve together. So just a huge thank you for that, thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. Thank you for the support, thank you for the love that I’ve always felt, thank you for always having my back. I will always love the club, I will always love the people of the club, I will always love the fans and the supporters. Even though I’m leaving as player, as a fan I’ll always be a Liverpool fan.
