Final Liverpool offer FAILS as star 'decides' next move with end-of-era announcement due

Liverpool will finally have to accept defeat in their quest to keep Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield after reports in Spain revealed the player has rejected one final desperate plea from FSG for the star to sign a new contract over the weekend, with details emerging on when his move to Real Madrid will become official.

The 26-year-old is out of contract at his boyhood club in just 99 days, meaning he can leave Liverpool as a free agent and join a club of his choosing this summer. Recognised as one of the best right-backs in world football, Spanish giants Real Madrid have not hidden their desire to prise the player away from Anfield this summer, with their interest in him dating back a good 18 months.

Now it seems, after much deliberation, that Alexander-Arnold has now agreed to quit Anfield and move to Madrid – though the decision reached has not been as cut-and-dried as initially touted.

Indeed, while reports in Spain late last week claimed the decision to join Los Blancos was ‘99% done’, behind the scenes, while having accepted the odds were now against them, Liverpool had refused to give up on their vice-captain.

To that end, it has now been claimed by Marca that FSG had this weekend forwarded a final contract offer to the player and his representatives in a last-ditch effort to persuade him to stay.

However, the Spanish outlet claims the 33-times capped England star has regrettably decided to spurn the approach, with his ‘heart now set’ on a move and that ‘nothing will change his mind’ on signing for Real Madrid.

Furthermore, it’s also been revealed that an ‘end-of-era’ transfer announcement is now coming from Liverpool as the club decides how best to handle such a monumental announcement.

To that end, it’s understood Alexander-Arnold will not make the decision public before Liverpool’s Premier League title triumph is confirmed, though will arrive before the final game of the season at home to Crystal Palace, where the player can, hopefully, lap up their expected Premier League trophy celebrations and bid his emotional farewells to Anfield.

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Liverpool warned over life without Alexander-Arnold as Owen reveals dilemma

Real Madrid interest in Alexander-Arnold can be tracked by as far as 18 months ago, when their plans to prise him away from Anfield as a free agent in summer 2025 was first reported. However, interest in him dates back even further with initial reports linking the player with a move to the Bernabeu historically going back a good five years.

Now, though, it appears they are set to land their man with sources revealing to us back in October how officials from Los Blancos had been in what was described to us as ‘constant contact’ over their bid to persuade him to sign.

Now, with a transfer announcement imminent, former Reds defender Stephen Warnock has revealed he does fear for what life will look like for Liverpool once the player moves on.

Warnock told Liverpool.com: “The loss to Newcastle was a bit of a look into what life might be like without Trent Alexander-Arnold if he is to leave this summer.

“In big games like that you need someone who’s able to find a killer pass or calm the game down and take the pressure off with their ability on the ball. Trent is capable of doing those things. He has his defensive vulnerabilities, but he gives the team so much on the ball and going forward.

“In the end though, I thought Newcastle were the better team on the day and they were just at the races more than Liverpool were. The way they set up was impressive and they had the better of Liverpool from the off.

“If Arne Slot could go back I think he would’ve made changes a bit earlier. I don’t even think it’s just down to that game. If you look back at the Paris Saint-Germain and Southampton games, he should’ve freshened things up a bit and made more changes.

“Liverpool played against Real Madrid this season without Trent and beat them, so it shows they can cope without him. They coped with losing players like Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard, they can cope without Trent. It’s about making sure you replace these players with quality.”

Michael Owen, meanwhile, has also debated the pros and cons of the player’s potential exit, having made the same move himself 21 years earlier.

“Does he want to stay at Liverpool? He’s been there, seen it, done it, won everything, got the t-shirt,” Owen told talkSPORT.

“He could retire at the club and be an all-time legend, will be an all-time legend. I mean, he’s contributed so much to that club, he’s come through the ranks.

“Nobody can doubt his loyalty or anything else like that. And he could play out his days and he’s still in a successful team. Liverpool are still absolutely one of the best teams in Europe, of course, going to go on to win the league as well this season. I mean, it’s not a bad choice.

“My choice, when I was in that situation, we weren’t quite as good as the current Liverpool team in terms of we weren’t quite as dominant.

“But it is a similar thing, no question about it. The other alternative, of course, is he can be sitting there thinking, I’ve done everything, I’ve achieved absolutely everything at my boyhood.

“Who can deny me a chance to go and play for one of the biggest teams in the world, a new experience, a new country, new language, new weather, new food, new everything? And what a team.”

Liverpool transfer latest: ‘Speed demon’ set to sign; Salah decision revealed

Meanwhile, the Reds are seemingly close to signing Jeremie Frimpong as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold, after a report revealed that the Bayer Leverkusen right-back had wanted to join Real Madrid and why Los Blancos have decided against a move for him.

Elsewhere, speculation that Liverpool want to offload Federico Chiesa at the end of the season have drawn a big response from the player’s father – himself a former high-profile player – and having made clear the winger’s future plans at Anfield.

On the outgoing front, the wisdom in Liverpool’s decision to sign Giorgi Mamardashvili has been questioned, with a blameless star now told his Anfield career is over as a result.

And finally, the Reds have been told to do ‘whatever it takes’ to cement Mo Salah down to a new deal after an Anfield old-boy revealed the player’s exact thoughts on signing an extension and with a promise made over the player’s fitness two, three and four years from now.

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