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Trent Alexander-Arnold will be leaving Liverpool this summer(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The link and rivalry between Liverpool and Real Madrid is well established.

Maybe it is why some Liverpool fans find it so hard to accept that Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving Anfield for the Bernabeu.

The legacy of a simmering feud between supporters of two of European football’s super powers is a sense of bitterness and jealousy.

It dates all the way back to John Toshack who had eight years as a player at Anfield in the 1970s, felt aggrieved at being passed over as Liverpool manager for Joe Fagan in 1983 and got the Real Madrid job further down the line instead.

Michael Owen went to Real Madrid for a cut-price £8m fee in 2004 and still has a complicated relationship with the Liverpool fanbase to this day.

But Steve McManaman is the one whose departure closest resembles to Alexander-Arnold and that is the reason why some fans will find it hard to forgive and forget this time around.

McManaman was one of the most high-profile Bosman-style free transfers when he left Liverpool as a free agent in 1999 to join Real Madrid on a mega contract.

England star McManaman became the biggest earner in Spain on a reputed £65,000-a-week, won two Champions League titles, two La Liga titles and is still remembered fondly in Madrid.

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McManaman insists that Liverpool still has a bigger place in his heart - albeit only just - and yet he will never be remembered in the same way as a hero like Steven Gerrard.

That will be the same for Alexander-Arnold who, despite winning trophies and being a product of the club’s academy and the self-proclaimed “Scouser in the team”, finds himself in a similar situation.

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The fans revelled in Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah signing new deals but were resigned to losing Alexander-Arnold and, for many, there is an escapable sense of resentment.

Alexander-Arnold's exit has angered Liverpool fans(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Alexander-Arnold will probably be appreciated more at Real Madrid for his flair and creativity than in English football because, while Liverpool fans respected his ability as a player, others seemed to focus on what he couldn’t do rather than what he could.

McManaman, now a respected TV pundit with TNT Sports, says the first thing that Alexander-Arnold must do to ensure he is a success in Spain is really quite simple.

He told ESPN: “The simple thing is to learn the language as soon as possible.

Steve McManaman won two Champions Leagues after leaving Real Madrid for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

“When I was at Madrid, not necessarily the club but the city, no-one spoke English.
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