With Trent Alexander-Arnold set to affix Steve McManaman and Michael Owen in swapping Anfield for Real Madrid…SEVEN Liverpool heroes who left the membership – and one which stayed!
- Alexander-Arnold looks set to leave boyhood club for Real Madrid this summer
- He would be latest in a long line of recent fan favourites to seek pastures new
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is England’s squad good enough to win the World Cup?
Liverpool’s homegrown star Trent Alexander-Arnold is seemingly on his way out of Anfield, with discussions are ongoing with Real Madrid.
The right back refused to sign a contract extension before the start of this season, setting him up to be a free agent come the end of the campaign.
Los Blancos were quick to pounce on the opportunity with the ageing Dani Carvajal suffering from a cruciate ligament tear, Real Madrid are seeking a long-term solution in defence.
The official contract draft has been sent to Alexander-Arnold from Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano, starting positive discussions to get the deal done come the start of the summer transfer window.
The Englishman played 254 times in the Premier League for the Reds, establishing himself as first choice right back under Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot. Yet, fans are furious with his impending exit with some calling for him to be benched for the rest of the season due to his apparent lack of respect to the club.
Alexander-Arnold’s departure is not the first time a Reds darling has left the club causing huge uproar amongst fans, highlighting the unrivalled passion at Liverpool.
Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to leave Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of the season
The homegrown star established himself in the side under former manager Jurgen Klopp
Steve McManaman
One player who knows exactly what Alexander-Arnold is going through is Steve McManaman, a fellow Liverpool academy product.
Back in 1999, the winger rejected below par contract offers as the clock ticked on his agreement, with the Englishman feeling he was the best player but the worst paid in the team.
Gerard Houlier’s arrival at the start of the 1998-99 season was also a tipping point for McManaman as the Frenchman co-managed alongside Roy Evans in a weird experiment.
Whilst fans were upset, more hatred was aimed at the Liverpool hierarchy due to their inability to hold onto their big names, especially academy products.
McManaman stated he had a four-second meeting on his Liverpool contract negotiations, swiftly rejecting Liverpool’s poor offer, leaving to join Real Madrid at the end of the season.
Seeking an opportunity abroad, the Lancashire born star had already made up his mind to play further afield, a wise decision which saw him win seven major titles with Los Blancos.
Steve McManaman revealed that he had a four-second meeting on his Liverpool contract negotiations, swiftly rejecting the Reds’ poor offer
Robbie Fowler
Prolific Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler was also left frustrated by the arrival of Houlier, leading to his exit at the end of the 2000-01 season.
The Reds seventh all-time top goal scorer saw his position as the reds main forward dramatically change as Houlier preferred Emile Heskey and Michael Owen to lead the line.
Fans adored Fowler but the lack of game time saw the academy product leave Merseyside for Leeds in the following campaign.
Fowler has openly spoken about dreaming of scoring more goals for Liverpool and laments that he should have been higher on the all-time goals leaderboard.
His departure infuriated Liverpool fans highlighting the poor man management of the Houlier era and the many beloved Liverpool players who were forced out.
The Reds seventh all-time top goal scorer Robbie Fowler saw his position in the starting line-up come under threat after the arrival of Gerard Hoiller
Michael Owen
Continuing the trend of Reds heroes swapping Anfield for the Spanish capital, Michael Owen sealed a move to Madrid at the start of the 2004-05 season.
After breaking through as a teenage sensation, Owen quickly rose to Liverpool prominence including five major titles with the Reds.
From a personal perspective, Owen’s individual performances saw him win the coveted Ballon d’Or in 2001, an accolade which prompted heavy interest from Real Madrid.
Houlier’s sacking and the decline of Liverpool’s title aspirations pushed Owen to consider his options, which even resulted in him sitting on the bench at the start of the 2004-05 season in the Champions League to avoid being cup-tied shoudl his move to the Bernabeu materlise.
Owen stayed at Real Madrid for one season, returning to the Premier League where he eventually wound up at Liverpool’s fierce rivals Manchester United.
This move prompted hostile fan interactions where Owen vividly remembered being booed upon returns to Anfield with the occasional shout of ‘You Manc’.
‘I hated going back as a player,’ Owen told the Daily Mail. ‘It felt like I was punching my brother. Being booed, I felt sick.
Michael Owen was hated by scores of Liverpool fans after his move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2004
Xabi Alonso
Rafael Benitez succeeded Houlier at Anfield and swiftly brought Xabi Alonso in from Real Sociedad to be the epicentre of new technical midfield.
The Spaniard captivated Liverpool hearts, playing a key role in the side’s famous 2004-05 Champions League victory in Istanbul.
In the 2008 summer transfer window, despite his consistent performances, a move away from Merseyside was suggested with Alonso to make way for Gareth Barry.
The transfer speculation came to nothing but left the Spaniard unsettled and unsure of his position in the team as Liverpool pursued another midfielder.
Fans were eager to support Alonso on and off the pitch, including fans chanting his name during a pre-season friendly match against Lazio.
Due to differences with Benitez, Alonso moved to Real Madrid for £30m, against his reported desire to stay at the club.
The sale of Alonso left fans disgruntled, losing one of their favourite players when he clearly did not want to leave Merseyside.
Xabi Alonso came close to leaving Anfield in the summer of 2008 when the club pursued Gareth Barry before eventually leaving 12 months later
Fernando Torres
Fellow Spaniard Torres excelled during his time with Liverpool, scoring 65 times in 102 games with the club.
El Nino joined the Reds from Atletico Madrid in search of silverware but was left disappointed, not winning a single trophy.
Benitez’s exit and the club’s sale left Torres at crossroad in his career, desperate to win trophies and play with stability.
New Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson adamantly claimed Torres was not for sale yet during the January transfer window Chelsea submitted a £40m bid that was rejected.
Torres would then submit a transfer request which, whilst initially denied, later culminated in an accepted increased bid of £50m from the Blues.
The Spaniard struggled during his time at Chelsea and was pictured a villain on his return to Anfield, but did win the trophies he sought after.
Fernando Torres took the league by storm after his arrival at Anfield from Atletico Madrid in 2007
The Spaniard would break Reds’ fans hearts by completing a then-British record £50m transfer to Chelsea in 2011
Luis Suarez
A Premier League icon and one half of the formidable ‘SAS’ strike partnership with Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez’s eventual departure was certainly not unexpected.
His three-and-a-half-year spell at Anfield was marred by a racial abuse incident and a further suspension for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.
However, these moments did not stop the Uruguayan from smashing in the goals, scoring 69 times for the Reds in 110 games. The season prior to his eventual departure in 2014, Suarez was reportedly promised that he would be allowed to leave Liverpool should they fail to qualify for the 2013-14 Champions League.
Arsenal submitted an infamous £40,000,001 bid which was rejected, leading to Brendan Rodgers’ strong remarks that Liverpool had broken no promises and Suarez had shown ‘total disrespect’ to the club.
After another season where Liverpool just missed out on the Premier League title – perhaps best remembered for Steven Gerrard’s devastating slip against Chelsea – the Uruguayan sealed a £75m move to Barcelona. This was despite signing a contract extension in 2014, leaving the Kop cheated and angry in his display of two-facedness.
His evident restlessness and the fact his family reside in the Catalan capital saw his move as a win-win for all parties despite the emotional fallout with fans.
Luis Suarez had agitated for a move away from Liverpool before remaining to produce one of the best individual campaigns in Premier League history
Raheem Sterling
Once tipped to be a Liverpool favourite after bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old, Raheem Sterling ended up breaking fans’ hearts.
Playing a major part in the potent Liverpool attack alongside Suarez, Sturridge and Gerrard, Sterling’s place on the wing looked secure as his career began to pick up.
In 2015, he rejected a £100,000-a-week contract offer at Anfield in favour of joining the growing footballing superpower Manchester City.
The transfer epic was watched by the public, leaving Liverpool fans aggrieved when the winger joined their Premier League rivals.
The once Liverpool wonderkid’s bitter exit left a sour taste in the mouths of Liverpool fans and, whenever he returns to Anfield, he is faced with backlash from supporters.
Raheem Sterling’s move to Manchester City in 2015 came as a devastating blow to Reds supporters
Steve Gerrard came close to rejoining Chelsea on a number of occasions but most notably in the summer of 2004
But Steven Gerrard chose to stay…
Whilst he never left his boyhood club in his prime, Liverpool’s skipper was very close to signing for a fierce Premier League rival.
First linked with Chelsea in 2003-04 season after being pursued by the notorious footballing mastermind Jose Mourinho.
The transfer speculation drew on for two seasons as Chelsea pushed to bring the Reds legend to Stamford Bridge including John Terry trying to convince him during Euro 2004.
Former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry stated: ‘I think during the Euros, Steven pretty much decided he wanted to go to Chelsea. The mistake Chelsea made was letting Steven come back to Liverpool after the Euros.’
‘They should have kept him on Abramovich’s boat.’
Chelsea weren’t the only suitors for Gerrard’s services as Real Madrid also joined the race for the Englishman amongst a misunderstood contract saga in the summer 2005 transfer window.
Real Madrid seized on the opportunity, offering £100,000-a-week which was rejected by Gerrard, despite contract negotiations being closed with Liverpool following comments from Gerrard’s agent.
Liverpool then rejected a £32m bid from Chelsea, but Gerrard handed in a transfer request in a bid to move away from Anfield amongst the confusion.
The legendary Reds skipper stayed with his boyhood club for another 11 seasons before his exit in 2015
Gerrard had long been welcomed back into the hearts of Liverpool fans and they showed their appreciation for their heroic skipper at his final game at Anfield in 2015
Family phone calls then prompted a U-turn as Gerrard opened talks with Liverpool again over his contract, finalising a deal for £50,000-a-week.
Gerrard offered his resignation as captain as well due to his conduct which Benitez rejected immediately.
Fans still needed to be won back due to his flirtatious behaviour with a move away from Merseyside, prompting burning of his No 17 shirt, while a banner of ‘Judas’ was hung at Melwood and ‘Traitor’ was spray painted on the walls of the club’s Melwood training ground.
A week later, Gerrard scored his first hat-trick for the club as Liverpool’s loyal supporters chanted his name, firmly putting an end to the transfer drama.
