Lifelong Liverpool fan Carl Duffy, 41, was at the game with his daughter in the main stand, and said both of them booed Alexander-Arnold’s introduction.
“The reason we booed comes down to a number of things, some of which in isolation would make this scenario different but combined it was always going to lead to this,” Duffy explained.
“Trent claims to be a local lad whose dreams came true, always talking about watching the 2005 Champions League trophy coming home from his house on Queens Drive. His idol was Steven Gerrard. Everything about him screamed ‘he’s just the same as us’.
“We identified with him, he was living our dream. To us it gets no bigger than Liverpool being on top and being part of that.
“In our minds nothing is bigger than Liverpool, that’s how it is here. It feels like a betrayal, a backstab, like everything that was said before wasn’t really true, or at least not as true as was portrayed.”
Duffy isn’t worried about the hole Alexander-Arnold’s exit leaves in the squad but said the emotional aspect was tough to accept.
“We’ve lost big players before like Michael Owen [to Real Madrid in 2004] – the next year we won the Champions League, so history tells us not to cry about losing a player,” Duffy said. “It’s the hurt and emotion behind it that’s the killer, not the loss of a right-back.
“I think if Alexander-Arnold had anything about him, he’d have signed a new deal with a clause for Real Madrid set at say £40m and said: ‘I’m not going to screw Liverpool out of money. If Madrid want me that much they will pay the fee.'”
Richard Davis, 50, was at the game against Arsenal and also condoned the booing from some supporters.
“Alexander-Arnold is widely known as a local lad that is a Liverpool fan,” he said. “I, and most fans, can’t even begin to imagine how amazing it would be to be in his place so where’s the respect to ‘his’ club?
“If you genuinely love the club, and care, why would you run your contract down for the last year or so, to make sure that the club gets absolutely nothing to replace you after they have invested for the last 20 years in turning you into the superstar that you’ve become?
“No-one begrudges any Liverpool player wanting to change their lives and go elsewhere if they want to, but go the right way. Go with respect and some class. Be honest and straight with the club, and don’t play this ‘will I, won’t I?’ game that he’s been playing with them.
“I am a fan, and this does mean more. Alexander-Arnold would have been a legend of the club had he stayed. He would probably been in most fans’ top 10 Liverpool players of all time – but I think that legacy has all gone now and he’s really tarnished how he’s left so badly.
“We’ll always be grateful for the contributions that he’s made. That contribution has been wonderful, but the way that he’s left has left a really sour taste in the mouth which will hang around long in the memory.”
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