Liverpool supporters have shown over recent days that they do not take well to one of their own leaving.
The Reds have always been an emotional fanbase, priding themselves on being more than just any old football club.
As Trent Alexander-Arnold is learning to his chagrin, that is certainly true. The right-back is in for a tough time from certain parts of the support after deciding to turn his back on Liverpool.
It’s safe to say that not everyone agrees with Reds’ fans position, however. Pundits and former players have been quick to declare that supporters should clap Alexander-Arnold off, wish him well and thank him for his service.
While that may be some people’s view inside Anfield when the 26-year-old plays his final game for Liverpool on May 25th, the majority will likely be feeling the exact opposite.
And although that feeling of disappointment and anger will subside over the years, it will never fully go away. Just ask Michael Owen, whose decision to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid – and later join Manchester United – has made him a pariah amongst Reds supporters. And after weighing in on Alexander-Arnold taking a similar path, Owen has risked the wrath of fans once again.
Michael Owen delivers Trent Alexander-Arnold verdict
It didn’t have to be this way for Owen. Having scored 158 goals in 297 appearances after coming through the Liverpool academy, he genuinely could have been one of the greats.
But after some contract troubles of his own, the striker was sold to Madrid for a paltry £8m in 2004. Owen reportedly tried to come back to Liverpool after just one year, but the transfer never materialised.
Having failed to return to Anfield, it was Owen’s move as a free agent to United in 2009 which really marked him out as a ‘traitor’ in the eyes of many. And after coming out to defend Alexander-Arnold’s decision this week, the 45-year-old has only dug himself deeper.
“Who can criticise him, really?” Owen said on ITV, incredibly. “I know there will be one or two people that will, but he’s been there, seen it, done it, won absolutely everything the game can offer at Liverpool. If he wants to go and try something new for his family, for him just to do something different in his life, I’ve got no problem.”
“It’s easy for me to say, I know half the fans will be screaming at the telly, but if I was a Liverpool fan I’d be saying ‘thank you very much for all your service, you’ve been incredible, you’ve won everything. Thank you, good luck and we wish you well.’
“That’s what I think, but of course we’re talking football and football is different to anything else,” he added.
“If you get a promotion then everyone says well done, but in football you’re a traitor. It’s quite sad because he’s done everything.”
Owen misses the point again
It almost seems Owen is enjoying his status as a pantomime villain for Liverpool supporters at times.
He is welcome to his opinion, of course, and there’s little question that this is a genuinely held belief from the former England man. He walked the walk himself after all. But Owen really should read the room on occasions.
“I don’t feel as though I’m welcomed [at Liverpool] or loved and it b—- hurts, so I prefer to avoid it,” Owen told The Athletic in November 2024.
If he hadn’t realised it by now, it’s statements such as this one in relation to Alexander-Arnold which make Liverpool fans react angrily against him.
Having developed through the club and shone so brightly for it, Owen should be welcomed back at Anfield with open arms. That he isn’t, quite frankly, is solely his own doing. If he wants to turn that around in the future, this is not the way to go about it.
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