I understand the frustration of Liverpool supporters towards Trent Alexander-Arnold about his decision to join Real Madrid, but I don't think they can be too critical.
I am not sure if the return is anymore because Liverpool does not receive a substantial compensation or only that Trent has chosen to leave.
The timing of the news is a pity, but that Lek would not have come from Trent or his team. There is currently no advantage for him or Liverpool, with a competition title that still has to be won.
Whatever the reasoning is, the air flyer who can take himself on his way in the remaining months is nothing that he cannot handle. You don't play for a club like Liverpool with a bad temperament, so he will deal with the criticism.
He has given good service. He has been in the club for 20 years, he has won six trophies and how it seems that he will be two Premier League titles, now he gives a different challenge. Like every ambitious young man, should we mislead him?
Not to mention the fact that Liverpool in Conor Bradley has a ready-made replacement that has all the characteristics to become a top player.
There are no clear replacements for Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk, so that Liverpool supporters can at least take comfort that Bradley is already in the building.
For Trent, Real Madrid is now the only step from Liverpool. I do not consider Barcelona as there or Paris Saint-Germain given the competition in which they play.
Madrid is a tough school. Just ask successful coaches such as Fabio Capello or Vicente del Bosque, who were both fired immediately after winning the competition. There is not enough to win La Liga, that is a requirement – it must be that and the cup with the big ears – and that comes busy.
But I really believe that Trent can be a superstar at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid is a team that plays the vast majority of their matches on the front foot where his qualities come to the fore in the last third.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will pick the benefits while he offers goalscoring opportunities on a board week after week. Against the very best teams, his defensive weaknesses may be emphasized by the experts, but I believe that the plus points in the game of Trent will outweigh the minuses while he is there.
Choosing Liverpool to go abroad will not have been an easy decision for him, but the biggest thing is that it will make him a different person. He will be richer, perhaps for the salary, but more culturally. It will be a life -changing experience.
That was certainly my experience with leaving Liverpool, although in 1984 there was a big difference before my departure abroad.
I was 31, not 26 like Trent, and Liverpool had no real imagination in coming up with a solution for me to stay. They also received almost double the £ 350,000 that they had paid Middlesbrough seven years earlier.
My reasons for leaving Liverpool were due to the personal situation of my wife. After all, we had just won the European Cup, the League Cup and the first division title; I was the captain of the best team in Europe.
I had the opportunity to become a member of Chelsea, because their chairman Ken Bates devised a solution for me. It meant that tax reasons to move to Guernsey and come back three days a week to train and play at the weekend. I met Ken on Friday evening that Liverpool Newcastle United had defeated 4-0 in the FA Cup. In the same game, the moment Kevin Keegan had decided it would be his last season when he came in a race with Mark Lawrenson and it was one that he did not win.
As the season progressed, I was made aware of interest from various Italian clubs, one of them was Sampdoria, where Trevor Francis played, and he finally became the leadership for me who ended up in Genoa.
Kenny Dalglish and I were the best paid players in the country at the time. Sampdoria offered much more than I was in Liverpool and Italy was then the place to be.
All top players were there: Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Zico, Socrates. The list was endless with clubs that were funded by very rich individuals, as was the case with Oliamagnaat Paolo Mantovani who owned Sampdoria. And it was a challenge that I was ready for.
Furthermore, there was a considerable advantage to go to Sampdoria, because Trevor had already been there for two seasons and he was a huge help for my family who settled in a new country.
Likewise, Trent has the advantage that Jude Bellingham is real because they are friends. Jude will be familiar with the environment, culture and the Spanish way of life plus the demands to be a real Madrid player. Let's face it, the life of the Spanish way of life as a real Madrid player must be fantastic.
But I bet you end up there as a Trent, he will return to Anfield as a seasonal card holder. He will always be a Liverpool supporter in heart and soul and perhaps that is something that criticizing it.
Modern football is exaggerated – but it will never change
Harry Kane complained this week that players' concern about burnout is ignored. Today's top players are sitting on a hamster wheel and there is no chance that they will get out soon.
Unfortunately it's all about the Bottom Line. Clubs accept invitations for tournaments and friendly competitions in the hope of increasing their fan base.
They go to the four corners of the world in the hope of attracting more supporters to help increase their commercial activities.
In some cases they spend the best part of a day in a plane that last week to Sydney, Los Angeles or, like Aston Villa, during the international break, plays in Abu Dhabi.
I love football. It has been part of my life for more than 60 years, but even I think there is too much to look at now. The product only suffers from business people and accountants who control football clubs, both here and abroad try to squeeze every last cent from their assets.
If you play for the best teams, FIFA and UEFA will pile more games. We have domestic competitions, cups, Champions League, Europa League, Bloody Europa Conference, World Cups, European Championships and now the Nations League. It's exaggerated.
I did not come around to view the tension of England against Albania or Latvia, but, I dare to say, I have at least Andorra versus England to look forward to the next time -out!
The only way the clubs cope is to build larger squadrons and what to consult? That costs more money. My message to Harry Kane and Co? Get used to Harry, it won't change soon.
Why former players will make big referees
I have been arguing for years that players should become referees, so it was good to see that progress was made in the last fast-track camp at Warwick University this week.
Former professional football players such as Chris Birchaall and Liam Trotter, who are halfway through the three -year course, will have the game a much better understanding of the game than any official operation today.
Was in a position from 50 meters away, I can, just like any other ex-Pro, see when there is a coming together that is the perpetrator and who is the victim.
Every former player will also have a better understanding of all the hatred of all fans: deception, or, sorry, by definition that 'simulation' should read.
The current harvest of referees may have a line book from cover to cover, but an ex-player would do much better in reading these situations and other nuances in our game.
Farewell Trevor, a great person
On Thursday I lived an evening of Trevor Francis in a sold-out Birmingham Symphony Hall, organized by his good friend, the comedian and Big Blues supporter Jasper Carrott.
It was another memory of how fragile life is. A great evening was had by everyone who remembered a man I considered a great football player, a good friend, but especially as a great person.
The cause that takes me out of bed at 5.30 am
The heat has recently returned to the sea, making swimming a little more bearable. I would even go so far to say that I really enjoy getting out of bed every morning at 5.30 am.
This Wednesday I was invited to BBC's breakfast show in my role as vice-president of Debra, the charity that helps people with epidermolysis bullosa or ebb, the rare genetic blistering skin condition.
The plan is to announce a new challenge that can be a lot for me. It is easily our most difficult so far and much more difficult than when we swam the channel two years ago when I was part of a relay team.
I sincerely hope that I can rely on your support for such a worthy thing.
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