Steven Gerrard says he would not have been able to leave Liverpool in his prime as he questioned Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to move to Real Madrid this summer.
Plenty of Liverpool fans were left frustrated by Alexander-Arnold’s decision to let his contract wind down and strike a deal with Real Madrid, who ended up paying a small fee to sign the right back in time for last summer’s Club World Cup.
Gerrard confessed he found himself in a similar situation during his playing days and acknowledged the impact interest from Real Madrid can have on a player, but insisted he could not have followed through with a departure like Alexander-Arnold did.
“If I take my Liverpool hat off, I think any player in the game when Barcelona and Real Madrid come, it’s going to turn your head,” Gerrard told . “This is me speaking without my Liverpool hat on at the moment.
“Real Madrid came for me with [José] Mourinho, serious. And it turned my head. It didn’t get as much traction and noise as Chelsea because it was shut down pretty quick because of the timing of it and what Real Madrid wanted me to do to manufacture that.
“So it never got the traction or the noise, but it turned my head. It turned my head, for sure. It’s Real Madrid. So without my Liverpool hat on, Real Madrid and Barcelona, whether you like it or not, if you’re a [Manchester] United fan, Liverpool fan, they’re two humongous clubs. And when they come, it’s going to turn your head. No matter who you are, it’s going to turn your head or you’re not… you’re not human. They’re going to turn your head.
“So I can understand it from being in Trent’s shoes. I can understand it. I get it. His best mate [Jude Bellingham] plays there. Maybe he wants to challenge himself. He’s won everything at Liverpool. So there’s a part of me that really understands it.
“But as soon as I put my Liverpool hat back on, I think, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ You’re arguably one of the best teams in Europe. You’re winning things that I sit here now and still dream of winning. You’re winning European Cups. You’re one of the main men. The fans adore you. What are you doing? But this is with my Liverpool hat on, because I love Liverpool Football Club.”
