Liverpool agreed terms on a deal worth £10million to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid early – but one pundit believes the Reds should have played hardball
Liverpool have been told they should have stuck to their guns rather than caving into the ‘bullies’ at Real Madrid after accepting an offer from the Spanish giants for Trent Alexander-Arnold earlier this week.
The Reds right-back, 26, announced at the start of the month he would not be renewing his contract at Anfield. Real Madrid are long-term admirers of the England star were due to sign him for free at the end of next month.
But with Los Blancos desperate to have their marquee summer signing available for the upcoming Fifa Club World Cup, Real and Liverpool agreed terms on a financial package which – taking into account saved wages – will bank the Reds around £10million.
While Liverpool will now add a sizeable sum to their summer transfer budget for a player who was due to leave for free, Gabby Agbonlahor has criticised the Premier League champions over the deal.
The former Aston Villa man says he would have refused to do a deal over Alexander-Arnold and forced the England star to miss the start of the Club World Cup.
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He said: “Do you know what I would have done? I would have loved it – and I’m sure Liverpool fans would agree – (had they said) stuff you, you’ve gone after our player sneakily, you’ve made a deal for him to say he’s going to Real Madrid, you’ve cost us £100m, he’s a £100m player at a great age, you can wait until July 1 and he’s going to miss two games of the Club World Cup, how about that?
“You think you can bully everyone, Real Madrid, biggest club in the world, but you’re not bullying Liverpool.”
The talkSPORT pundit continued: “Yes, £10m [is] great money, it can go towards transfers. But sometimes I look at it and think wouldn’t it be nice if Liverpool said, ‘Nah, he’s not going to play a game for you until July 1′.
“You you think you can get anything you want, Real Madrid. You’ve got (Kylian) Mbappe on a free transfer, you’ve got Trent on a free, and now you want him you’re offering £10m for a £100m player.”
Alexander-Arnold will now be free to feature for Los Blancos when they face Al-Hilal in their first match of the tournament next month.
The boyhood Reds fan has signed a six-year deal with the Spanish giants and will officially become a Real Madrid player when the transfer window opens on June 1.
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