Paul Scholes has gone against the grain with his take on Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid, and Reds fans will absolutely love it!
The 27-year-old returned to Anfield this week when his current side met his boyhood club in the Champions League, and he was roundly jeered on Merseyside after the acrimonious manner in which he effectively ran down his contract earlier this year and left for a comparative pittance.
Despite Jamie Carragher’s cogent explanation as to why the right-back was met with such a hostile reception, plenty of pundits have inevitably climbed aboard their high horse and derided LFC supporters for their reaction towards their former player.
Scholes unleashes brilliant Real Madrid jibe
In the latest episode of Stick to Football, Roy Keane – previously a hugely vocal critic of Alexander-Arnold – took it upon himself to lecture Kopites about ‘class’ as he moaned that ‘Liverpool fans have to have a good look at themselves’ over the events of Tuesday night.
While Ian Wright also hopped aboard the Trent sympathy train, Scholes largely kept quiet on the topic, but the one sentence he contributed to the discussion was unexpected and brilliant as he said of the England right-back: “He probably left a better team to go to a worse team.”
Liverpool outclassed Real Madrid on Tuesday night
Although Real Madrid have largely enjoyed a better season than Liverpool so far – Xabi Alonso’s side have won 13 of their 15 matches in all competitions and enjoy a five-point lead at the summit of LaLiga – they were distinctly second best to the Reds at Anfield.
Only for yet another stupendous Thibaut Courtois performance against the Merseysiders, Los Blancos would’ve been roundly thrashed on Tuesday night, and even their most ardent supporters would admit that the result was a fair one.
Alexander-Arnold could still enjoy plenty of success at the Bernabeu, but the match in midweek proved that LFC have a quality right-back replacement for him in Conor Bradley, who was nothing short of outstanding (in Arne Slot’s own words) as he completely nullified Vinicius Junior.
After listening to so many pundits claim that the former Liverpool vice-captain has traded up by going to Real Madrid and that Kopites should basically accept their place in the European football food chain, it’s so refreshing to hear Scholes provide an original take on the matter.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Real Madrid press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
Trent has his own decision and freedom to join real Madrid on a free by running down his contract. Similarly, Liverpool fans have their own decision and freedom to do what they like. You don’t see Alonso getting stick from Liverpool fans. As a fan, I like the statement we are the better team and we must strive to win many more UCL trophies and hopefully we overtake real Madrid in the near future.
Fair comment, but I think you don’t get the same level of displeasure aimed at Xabi or most other players who’ve have left LFC (especially at their peak) because they are usually not Scousers.
We can’t deny the special bond that happens when a local player makes it to world class status.
Fowler didn’t get that grief.
If Gerrard had left, he would.
There’s a difference there and it was about giving the best years to LFC.
You’ll probably recall Clemmo always got a good reception from the Kop when Spurs came to call. Jimmy Case the same with Brighton.
As a side note, ask Evertonians how they felt about Rooney going to Utd.
If they were honest, many might say they were gutted, but that it was tempered somewhat because they knew such a quality player going to LFC’s fiercest rivals would irk us.
That said, it’s a fact of life that playing football professionally is a job and we all expect the freedom in our lives to move jobs, should it be the right thing to do.
Maybe the fans just need to get it out of their systems proportionately and get over it longer term. It’s only self-destructive in the end.
It’s a bit like having a grudge against an ex-, when there’s no need to. It’s pain for mutual friends….