Why Trent Alexander-Arnold 'Summer of 66' party was held at Liverpool training ground

Trent

Trent Alexander-Arnold's 'Summer of 66' leaving party was held at the club's AXA Training Centre on Friday afternoon as the Liverpool defender enters his final weeks at Anfield.

The festival-themed event was held after the players had returned to training before Monday's visit to Brighton and featured a barbecue, flamethrowers and an outdoor bar for family and friends.

The first-team squad were on hand to begin the start of their farewells to their vice captain as he gets set to leave the club after 20 years on their books when his contract ends on June 30.

The function also included performers on stilts, ice cream vans and luxury food stalls, while there was also a designated kids' zone, where club mascot Mighty Red was present to meet and greet families.

It's understood the carnival-style party was Alexander-Arnold's way of saying thank you to his team-mates and colleagues at the club, many of whom he has known and worked alongside for years.

The 26-year-old was present with his two brothers, Tyler and Marcell and parents Diane and Michael.

Liverpool had been keen to keep the event a private one but a number of videos and pictures from the party eventually made their way on to social media on Sunday morning, inevitably going viral in the process.

The event was similar to what Roberto Firmino held before his exit to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2022 and is viewed as standard for the departure of a high-profile player in the first-team squad.

However, there has been some backlash to the videos and pictures that have emerged online since the event took place

some supporters still angry at the prospect of seeing a two-time Premier League winner leave as a free agent at the age of 26.

Real Madrid will be Alexander-Arnold's next destination with the La Liga giants keen to bring him to the Spanish capital before the official end of his terms next month.

With los Blancos involved in the revamped and more lucrative Club World Cup, the Spaniards are looking to engineer a deal that will see the England international join earlier than initially planned

It's unclear at this stage how Liverpool plan to respond to that proposal.

The opportunity to offload an outgoing high-earner a month earlier makes financial sense and the prospect of a minimal transfer fee might also appeal.

The No.66 was jeered loudly when he appeared as a second-half substitute during last Sunday's 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Anfield.

The game was the first since the right-back publicly declared his intention to leave at the end of his contract and he was booed upon his introduction for Conor Bradley, before an even louder response could be heard when he got his first touches in the game.

Speaking to Gary Neville earlier this week, Mohamed Salah said of the reception for Alexander-Arnold:

Salah

"I was surprised because this is not how we act as Liverpool fans, we shouldn't act this way with anyone.

"We should always appreciate the people that came here even for six months.

“Imagine someone gave you his all for 20 years. It shouldn't be like this, and I hope that will change at the next game at Brighton or the last game of the season, because he deserves the farewell."

Liverpool have already made significant moves to ease the exit Alexander-Arnold, triggering the £30m release clause of Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong while wrapping up a new contract for Conor Bradley.

Frimpong will undergo a medical next weekand is expected to become a Reds player on a five-year contract.