Gary Neville has labelled Real Madrid’s “p*ss-take” bid to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold early as an “insult” to Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold will join the Spanish giants when his contract comes to an end this summer, if not before as Los Blancos push for his early release so the full-back can play for them at the Club World Cup.
It’s thought Liverpool have asked for a nominal fee for that to happen; far less than Madrid offered to sign Alexander-Arnold in January, with the Reds reportedly rejecting a £20m offer for just six months of service.
The club wasn’t willing to sanction the deal as they were pushing for a second Premier League title that they secured at the end of last month, at which point Alexander-Arnold announced his plan to leave.
The 26-year-old was booed by a big chunk of Liverpool fans as he came off the bench in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, with a seeming majority unhappy at him leaving them for a major European competitor while reaping no reward for his development through the academy.
Jamie Carragher agreed that his exit leaves a sour taste due to the lack of a transfer fee, but Neville implied that Liverpool have no grounds for discontent as they could have accepted the £20m fee in January, before criticising Madrid for their p*ss-take offer.
Neville said on ‘The Overlap Fan Debate’: “Liverpool could have taken £20m for him in January, which was four months before the end of his contract. I know that was something they were never going to do, but they could’ve got money for him.
“I thought it was a bit provocative from Real Madrid. I thought it was a p*ss-take to be honest with you, but they (Liverpool) could’ve got £20m for him. It would have risked them winning the league, but they could’ve got cash for him.”
Defending Alexander-Arnold, Neville added: “(Liverpool) weren’t willing to risk their position to get £20m, but they wanted him to risk his position by signing a contract.
“That’s the bit I don’t agree with. I don’t think he should’ve signed a contract just so the club got money.”
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Carragher previously suggested that Alexander-Arnold or his agents might have prompted Madrid’s offer.
He said: “They’re bullies, Real Madrid. My problem with it is, they have bid on the back of Trent Alexander-Arnold or his agent saying, ‘Put a bid in.’ Because they wouldn’t put a bid in, they wouldn’t do that unless they get the say so.
“But all those parties know Liverpool are going to turn that down anyway, so what are you trying to create? What noise are you (trying to make)? Liverpool are not going to sell Trent in January going for a league title.
“What I’m saying is, let’s not be naive here. No one puts bids in now unless they’ve already spoken to the player about it. If it gets accepted, would you come? People know before they put bids in.
“I think for that to come out when it did, I was not happy about that at all. For me, we’re probably not the best people to speak to about this because we’ve never been involved in a transfer and we’re probably two of the biggest club men who always put the club first.”
Neville replied: “You know when you bid £20m for that player, you know a club like Liverpool are not going to accept that bid. So you’re almost in some ways insulting them, you are.”
