Michael Owen Has Told Trent Alexander-Arnold What Will Happen on Anfield Return

Michael Owen has described what it was like to go back to Anfield after leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid – and his experience is a stark reminder to Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of his return.

Alexander-Arnold will be available for Real Madrid's much-anticipated Champions League clash against Liverpool on Tuesday, just five months after leaving his boyhood club for Los Blancos on a free transfer.

It was a controversial move, to say the least. In his own words, it was "one of the toughest decisions" of his life, but the defender is expected to receive a hostile reception.

Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, has “mixed emotions” ahead of the game. “I think when the draw was announced, everyone kind of knew it was going to happen, it was destined for that fixture to come,” he told Amazon Prime.

“They are a top team, so I knew at some stage, some point I’d end up going back there or playing against Liverpool either here or there. It’s happening, so yeah, mixed emotions. I think it will be a very, very difficult game, but one I’m excited for. A huge game on a huge stage.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit and available for Tuesday's clash against Liverpool. Image credit: Getty

Touching on the hostile reception he is expected to receive from the Anfield crowd, Trent added: “Whatever way I’m received is the decision of the fans. I’ll always love the club, I’ll always be a fan of the club. I’ll always be thankful for the opportunities and the things we achieved together – they’ll live with me forever."

He added: "No matter what, my feelings won’t change towards Liverpool. I’ve got memories there that will last me a lifetime and, no matter how I’m received, that won’t change.”

Michael Owen has previously opened up on Anfield return

Owen also left Liverpool for Real Madrid, although his spell in the Spanish capital lasted just one season before he returned to England with Newcastle United.

The striker, who progressed through the youth ranks at Liverpool before making his breakthrough as a teenager, was jeered by some Liverpool fans on his return to Anfield.

In fact, fans could be heard chanting "Where were you, where were you, where were you in Istanbul?" from the terraces.

Speaking about his Anfield return during an interview with Off The Ball, he said: "When I go back to Anfield and one or two people booed me, it was like a dagger in my heart for what I did for the club and how I felt about it. And how I still feel."

Owen returned to Anfield with Newcastle United. Image credit: Getty

Tensions only increased in the summer of 2009, when Owen decided to join Liverpool's bitter rivals Manchester United. The former England international has been incredibly open and honest about leaving his boyhood club.

“The moment I chose to go to Real Madrid I lost control of my career and what the perceptions of it are,” Owen told The Telegraph last year.

“I don’t love going to Anfield now because I know I am not loved back. I tend to only go when I am working.

“It’s not that I dread going, but for a long time, I used to bury my head when driving back to the academy to see friends. I have told myself since I should not have been feeling like that.

“People say now: ‘It was because he signed for Manchester United.’ But the whole world knows there has been some history rewritten there.

“There was resentment directed at me before then when I played for Newcastle, even though I had a clause in my Newcastle contract that I could re-sign for Liverpool every summer.”

Owen and his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard. Image credit: Getty

He added: “That one decision I made in 2004 has become defining in terms of my relationship with Liverpool.”