Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘banned from Currys and Popworld' after quitting Liverpool for Real Madrid in free transfer
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD has been "banned" from two major venues in Liverpool.
It comes after he announced he would be leaving Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season.
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Alexander-Arnold is ending a 20-year association with the Reds after breaking through the academy and helping the club to win a host of major honours, including two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
The 26-year-old called it "easily the hardest decision of my life", with widespread reports suggesting he will be joining Real Madrid to link up with pal Jude Bellingham.
However, in their own announcement, Liverpool FC issued a blunt statement about his exit and clearly indicated that the defender leaving was his own decision rather than one backed by the club.
And the controversial decision prompted some venues in the city to take extreme measures to show their discontent... with cheeky posts on social media declaring he was banned.
The first of these was entertainment venue, Popworld Liverpool, who simply posted on social media: "Barred @TrentAA."
The official Currys X, formerly Twitter, account then weighed in by sharing a video of a staff member walking up the window, where a poster with a photo of Alexander-Arnold was visible with the caption: "Banned. Please do not enter."
The electrical goods retailer added the caption: "Banned from all Currys stores in Liverpool."
Reacting on social media, one fan said: "Companies of culture."
A second said: "I rate this."
A third added: "Hahahaha! I'm here for the pettiness!"
Trent Alexander-Arnold announces he is leaving Liverpool after 20 years in emotional video Liverpool
Another said: "Love this."
Reports have indicated Alexander-Arnold told the club and manager Arne Slot he would be leaving in March.
Alexander-Arnold's emotional statement saw him say: "After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season.
"This is easily the hardest decision I've ever made in my life.
"I know many of you have wondered why or been frustrated that I haven't spoken about this yet, but it was always my intention to keep my full focus on the team's best interests, which was securing No.20.
"This club has been my whole life – my whole world - for 20 years.
"From the Academy right through until now, the support and love I have felt from everyone inside and outside of the club will stay with me forever. I will forever be in debt to you all.
"But, I have never known anything else and this decision is about experiencing a new challenge, taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself both professionally and personally.
"I've given my all every single day I've been at this club, and I hope you feel like I've given back to you during my time here.
"From the bottom of my heart, I thank everybody – my coaches, my managers, my teammates, the staff and our incredible supporters - for the last 20 years.
"I've been blessed enough to live out my dreams here and I will never, ever take for granted the special moments I've been fortunate enough to have lived through with you all.
"My love for this club will never die."
Should his expected transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid happen, he will be only the seventh Englishman to star for the Bernabeu outfit.
This includes ex-Liverpool players Steve McManaman and Michael Owen, who like Alexander-Arnold, quit Anfield for Madrid.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool exit interview
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD spoke to Liverpool's in-house club media to explain his decision to leave Anfield.
Here are the key parts...
I think first and foremost, I want to say it's not an easy decision and there's a lot of thought and feeling that has gone into it. I've been here 20 years now, loved every single minute of it, achieved all my dreams, achieved everything I've ever wanted to here. Giving everything day in, day out for 20 years, I've got to a point now where I feel like I need a change, a new challenge for me as a player and as a person. And I think now is the right time for me to do that.
Obviously there's been a lot of noise around what the decision was going to be and how that was going to look. I know a lot of people will say I should have said sooner, a lot of people will say maybe I waited for the right time. But I felt personally the focus should always be on the pitch.
I've got full confidence in the manager and the staff and the club going forward. It's not about me thinking we're not going to fight for titles or fight for trophies season in, season out... it was never about not having confidence in that, it just boiled down to what I felt I needed, and that is a change.
Growing up, seeing players leave that I've loved watching and have helped the team win trophies, you feel a connection to the players that you watch, especially when they bring success to the club as well. So, I completely understand the feelings that go with that and I've felt it myself so I completely understand that the news will disappoint a lot of people, will anger people, it will make them upset. Obviously that went into the decision as well – it's something you don't want to do, you don't want to ever have these moments where you feel like you're letting a lot of people down, you're disappointing a lot of people. But I've had to make a decision for me, it's as simple as that. It's a difficult one, it's one that has played on my mind for a long time but being able now to get it off my chest will feel like a weight is lifted. And I think it's important for the fans to know where I stand and know what the truth is.
I fell in love with the club from a very, very young age and that's something that has grown and grown day in, day out. This club has given me the opportunities to achieve everything beyond my wildest dreams. I can never repay enough of what's been given to me and I don't take it for granted at all. I've given everything every single day for 20 years now. I've sacrificed everything.
I know the news will take a bit of time to set in and people won't be happy and they'll be disappointed. At the end of the day, you can be angry and hurt at me but I just hope that the lads, the rest of the team, the staff, everyone else is able to feel how good a season this has been and able to feel the love and support from the fans as they have done all season.
There's no doubt about it, I'll be back – I'd love one day to be able to bring my kids to Anfield and show them that that's where I've played and show them the videos and highlights of what we were able to achieve together. So just a huge thank you for that, thank you for everything you've ever done for me. Thank you for the support, thank you for the love that I've always felt, thank you for always having my back. I will always love the club, I will always love the people of the club, I will always love the fans and the supporters. Even though I'm leaving as player, as a fan I'll always be a Liverpool fan.
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