Why do fans boo their team, and will it happen again to Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold?

As Trent Alexander-Arnold was coming on as a substitute for Liverpool against Arsenal two weeks ago, his first appearance at Anfield since he announced he would be leaving this summer, some of the home crowd chose to make their feelings known by booing him. Will they do the same for his final game for the club on Sunday?

I wouldn’t say I was surprised to hear the reaction from the stands. His reception had been a big prematch talking point, helped by the fact that Liverpool has already won the Premier League title so there wasn’t much riding on the game itself. But I was still taken aback, especially when shortly afterward supporters were singing for Conor Bradley, the guy who was substituted for Alexander-Arnold and who could inherit his right-back position long-term.

Most players will know what it’s like to be part of an underperforming team that gets booed by their own fans, but to boo individuals: that’s tough. That’s really, really tough to me because it’s you, one of the 22 on the pitch, and specifically the sound is directed toward you from people who are wearing the same shirt as you are on the pitch, trying to represent them.

Supporters have a right to make their voices heard, as long as things don’t descend into outright abuse. How often are fans happy to see one of their best players leave for another club, at the peak of their powers? To Real Madrid, and on a free transfer, no less. I asked some Liverpool-supporting friends who the last home player to booed at Anfield was, and they couldn’t give me an answer. That shows the depth of feeling by a contingent of Liverpool fans toward Alexander-Arnold.

Of course, there is always the question of whether or not you should do something just because you can. I’m sure the fans who booed him don’t regret doing it but it might make those around them uncomfortable. Those who want to show appreciation for a player who has given so much to the team they support will be less likely to do so. If it was a long-serving player at your club in this situation, what would feel right for you and those fans around you to do?

It will be interesting to see what happens at his final game on Sunday, against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace. Now, Alexander-Arnold will go out in front of The Kop as a Liverpool player one final time, in no doubt how some fans feel about him leaving. Perhaps this time there will be no boos, or they will be less pronounced or drowned out by cheers of appreciation, as there will be a celebratory atmosphere in all corners of the ground. But everyone is still in the same position they were two weeks ago, nothing has changed: Trent is still leaving, and the fans are still unhappy.

It shows the reality of a player’s relationship with their club’s fans; you are one of them until you’re not. Not so long ago, Alexander-Arnold said that he wanted to be Liverpool club captain one day. That’s the dream of so many fans of Liverpool to do that. He’s literally living that experience which they would die for. And now, he’s choosing to turn his back on that.

You could argue that he brought it on himself, with the way he chose to handle the situation, but ultimately this is the way that he thought it was best to deal with it. I think some fans are unhappy with the fact that he announced his departure literally before the end of the season. Some are unhappy with the fact that it feels like he’s run his contract down to where the club couldn’t get a transfer fee for him to go to Madrid.

He’s not going to be the first player to leave the club for LaLiga, but he’s probably one of the most significant players to go on a free transfer when the team’s top of the tree and he’s heading toward the best years of his career. When Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez each left for Barcelona, they had actually signed new contracts within the previous year, and Liverpool used the £140 million fee for Coutinho to sign Virgil van Dijk and Alisson. That’s why I think there’s some issue with some Liverpool fans; when you consider somebody to be “one of your own,” then it’s a big surprise when that person all of a sudden ends up leaving, and without that club getting a real benefit from it.

One thing that remains constant is the respect that he has from his Liverpool teammates. They understand exactly who he is, the work that he has put in to help the team be as successful as they have been over these past few years and they know him as a person. They understand what he’s potentially going through right now because, for as much as all those players love being at Liverpool, they care for the kid because he’s been there his whole life.

They understand that from a purely footballing perspective, going to Real Madrid is the type of move most players could only dream of. But it’s the reality for Trent: he’s going to the team that’s won the Champions league 15 times. That’s genuinely a remarkable career step for anybody, no matter where they are in world football. So they understand his situation more, they’re disappointed that they’ll be losing a high quality teammate — one who is unique, but still one of the best to do what he does.

Still, they would have been put in an uncomfortable position after the boos at the Arsenal game. Should you speak out in support of your teammate, putting your head above the parapet? Does staying silent mean you agree? Both Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have backed Alexander-Arnold since, and their words carry extra weight not just as stars of the team but they were also due to be out of contract this summer but chose to stay.

Whatever the terms are under which Alexander-Arnold leaves, his legacy with the team will always be as part of that team which led Liverpool to being champions of Europe and England again. But he also remains a shining example to young players coming through at the club. If you are in Liverpool’s academy, you have a cast-iron example of what it is possible to achieve. You can come from the local area, make it into the first team, make that position you own, win everything there is to win, and do it all on your terms. Fans might not be happy with the way he has handled his exit, but inside the football world, things like that matter.

When most young footballers begin their career, they are not thinking about getting a glorious send-off from fans when they leave: they are just focused on getting minutes in the senior side. But as time passes within a career, when you’ve been at a club for a good period of time, you want to leave on good terms. You want to be appreciated for the work that you’ve done, because that means you’ve done a good job and, wherever you go, that’s always the objective.

I never got to say a proper goodbye to the fans at Manchester City, my hometown club where I came through the academy and played more than 100 times for the first team. But I was fortunate enough to have it at Queens Park Rangers. We had been through a lot — relegation, promotion, and at times things were difficult some players and the fans. But I ended my 6½ years at Loftus Road as club captain, and after my final game there were a few thousand supporters chanting my nickname, “Chief,” as I took a lap of honor with my family. It felt like I’d done a good enough job as a person on and off the field, through the highs and lows, to be appreciated. Then, for the final match of my career with Real Salt Lake in MLS, they spray-painted my squad number next to one of the goalposts and subbed me off so that I could get my own ovation from the fans. To go through those moments, for any player, it means so, so much.

Trent Alexander-Arnold never got the chance to celebrate winning his first Premier League title with Liverpool fans — it was Covid, so instead they lifted the trophy in an empty stadium. Here’s hoping that when he finally gets to do it in a packed Anfield, and through the streets of the city on their title parade, he gets to feel that appreciation one last time.

ESPN analyst Nedum Onuoha was speaking to Tony Mabert.