Here’s why Trent Alexander-Arnold is usually a celebrity at Real Madrid: GRAEME SOUNESS

I understand the frustration of Liverpool supporters towards Trent Alexander-Arnold over his decision to join Real Madrid but I don’t think they can be too critical.

I’m not sure whether the backlash is more because Liverpool won’t be getting a substantial fee or just that Trent has chosen to leave.

The timing of the news is unfortunate but that leak would not have come from Trent or his team. There is zero benefit to him or Liverpool in this coming out at this time, with a league title still to be won.

Whatever the reasoning, the flak that may come his way in the remaining months will be nothing he can’t handle. You don’t play for a club like Liverpool with a poor temperament so he will cope with the criticism.

He has given good service. He has been at the club for 20 years, he has won six trophies and what looks like becoming two Premier League titles, now he fancies another challenge. Like any ambitious young man, should we begrudge him that?

Not to mention, in Conor Bradley, Liverpool have a ready-made replacement who has all the hallmarks of becoming a top, top player.

There are no obvious replacements for Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk, so Liverpool supporters can at least take solace that Bradley is already in the building.

For Trent, Real Madrid are the only step up from Liverpool right now. I don’t consider Barcelona to be there or Paris Saint-Germain given the league they play in.

Madrid is a tough school. Just ask successful coaches such as Fabio Capello or Vicente del Bosque, who were both sacked immediately after winning the league. To win La Liga there isn’t enough, that’s a pre-requisite – it has to be that and the cup with the big ears – and with that comes pressure.

But I genuinely believe Trent can be a superstar at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid are a team that play the vast majority of their games on the front foot where his qualities in the final third will come to the fore.

Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will be reaping the benefits as he delivers goalscoring opportunities on a plate to them week in week out. Against the very best teams, his defensive frailties may well be highlighted by the experts, but I believe the plusses in Trent’s game will outweigh the minuses while he’s there.

Choosing to leave Liverpool to go abroad will not have been an easy decision for him but the biggest thing is it will make him a different human being. He will be richer, maybe for the salary, but more so culturally. It will be a life changing experience.

That was certainly my experience of leaving Liverpool, though there’s big difference to my departure abroad in 1984.

I was 31, not 26 like Trent, and Liverpool had no real imagination in coming up with a solution for me to stay. They also got almost double the £350,000 they’d paid Middlesbrough for me seven years earlier.

My reasons for leaving Liverpool were due to my wife’s personal situation. After all, we had just won the European Cup, the League Cup and the First Division title; I was captain of the best team in Europe.

I had an opportunity to join Chelsea as their chairman Ken Bates did come up with a solution for me. It meant moving to Guernsey for tax reasons and coming back to train three days a week and play at the weekends. I met Ken on the Friday night that Liverpool had beaten Newcastle United 4-0 in the FA Cup. The same game saw the moment Kevin Keegan had decided it would be his last season when he got in a race with Mark Lawrenson and it was one he didn’t win.

As the season progressed, I was being made aware of interest from several Italian clubs, one of them being Sampdoria, where Trevor Francis played, and he ended up being the conduit for me ending up in Genoa.

Kenny Dalglish and myself were the best-paid players in the country at the time. Sampdoria were offering a hell of a lot more than I was on at Liverpool and Italy then was the place to be.

All the top players were there: Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Zico, Socrates. The list was endless with clubs being funded by very wealthy individuals, as was the case with oil magnate Paolo Mantovani who owned Sampdoria. And it was a challenge I was ready for.

Further, there was significant benefit in going to Sampdoria as Trevor had already been there for two seasons and he was an enormous help for my family settling into a new country.

Similarly, Trent has the benefit of having Jude Bellingham at Real, being that they are mates. Jude will be familiar with the environment, the culture, and the Spanish way of life plus the demands of being a Real Madrid player. Let’s face it, living the Spanish way of life as a Real Madrid player must be fabulous.

But I bet you when Trent finishes there, he will return to Anfield as a season-ticket holder. He will always be a Liverpool supporter at heart and maybe that’s something those criticising should remember.

Modern football is overkill – but it’ll never change

Harry Kane complained this week that players’ concerns over burnout are being ignored. Top players of today are on a hamster wheel and there’s no chance of them getting off anytime soon.

Unfortunately, it’s all about the bottom line. Clubs are accepting invitations to tournaments and friendlies in the hope of increasing their fanbase.

They are going to the four corners of the world in the hope of attracting more supporters to help increase their commercial activities.

In some cases they are spending the best part of a day on an aeroplane travelling off to Sydney, Los Angeles or, like Aston Villa last week during the international break, playing in Abu Dhabi.

I love football. It has been part of my life for over 60 years but even I find there’s too much to watch now. The product is suffering but the businessmen and accountants who control football clubs both here and abroad are attempting to squeeze every last penny out of their assets.

If you play for the best teams, Fifa and Uefa are only piling up more games. We have domestic leagues, cups, Champions League, Europa League, bloody Europa Conference, World Cups, European Championships and now the Nations League. It’s overkill.

I didn’t get round to watching the thrills of England against Albania or Latvia but, dare I say it, at least I’ve got Andorra versus England to look forward to next time out!

The only way the clubs will cope is to build bigger squads and guess what? That costs more money. My message to Harry Kane and Co? Get used to it Harry, it ain’t gonna change anytime soon.

Why ex-players will make great referees

I have been advocating for years that players should become referees, so it was good to see progress being made at the latest fast-track camp at Warwick University this week.

Former professional footballers such as Chris Birchall and Liam Trotter, who are halfway through the three year course, will have far greater understanding of the game than any official operating today.

Sat in a stand from 50 yards away I, like any other ex-pro, can tell when there is a coming together who is the culprit and who is the victim.

Any former player will have a better grasp also of all fans’ pet hate: deceit, or, sorry, by definition that should read ‘simulation’.

The current crop of referees may know a rule book from cover to cover but an ex-player would do far better at reading these situations and other nuances in our game.

Farewell Trevor, a great human being 

I attended an evening in memory of Trevor Francis at a sold-out Birmingham Symphony Hall on Thursday, hosted by his good friend, the comedian and big Blues supporter Jasper Carrott.

It was yet another reminder of how fragile life is. A great night was had by all recalling a man I regarded as a great football player, a great friend but, most importantly, as a great human being.

The cause that gets me out of bed at 5.30am 

The warmth has returned to the sea lately, which has made swimming slightly more bearable. In fact I’d go as far to say I’m actually enjoying getting out of bed at 5.30 each morning.

I’ve been invited on BBC’s breakfast show this Wednesday in my role as vice-president of DEBRA, the charity that aids people living with epidermolysis bullosa or EB, the rare genetic blistering skin condition.

The plan is to announce a new challenge that could well be too much for me. It’s easily our toughest to date and much more difficult than when we swam the Channel two years ago, when I was part of a relay team.

I sincerely hope I can rely on your support for such a worthy cause.