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Trent Alexander-Arnold was "surprised" to learn Real Madrid had stumped up £10 million ($13.5 million) to buy him out of his Liverpool contract early.
The England full-back was already heading for the exit on a free transfer to Madrid in a deal which had elicited a hostile reaction from many Reds fans, who were angry that a local lad and one of their prized assets was leaving the club for nothing.
But Fenway Sports Group's chief executive of football Michael Edwards pulled Alexander-Arnold aside while celebrating their Premier League title win during the club's end-of-season open-top bus parade, to inform him that Madrid would be paying a fee after all.
According to The Telegraph, Edwards, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, and FSG president Mike Gordon delivered the news to Alexander-Arnold that his move to the Bernabeu was being fast-tracked.
Madrid was keen to have his services in time for the Club World Cup, which started in June, prior to Alexander-Arnold's contract expiring.
The £10 million outlay felt significant, but with £100 million ($135 million) on offer to the winner of the tournament, it seemed a price worth paying for Madrid.
Ultimately, Madrid would only go as far as the semifinals, but Liverpool would at least receive some compensation for Alexander-Arnold, who the club had nurtured from the day he joined the academy aged six.
All three executives are said to have given Alexander-Arnold their best wishes, while also being satisfied with the deal they had struck with Madrid, who paid the fee up front.
Liverpool completed the signing of Jeremie Frimpong just days later as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold, to kickstart a spending spree that would culminate with the club-record transfer fee being broken for a second time that summer by landing Alexander Isak in a £125 million ($169 million) deal from Newcastle.
Isak had forced Newcastle's hand during negotiations by going on strike and refusing to play over what he claimed were "broken promises" when the Magpies rejected Liverpool's opening offer.
Newcastle fans reacted angrily to Isak's behavior to secure his move. But former Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann believes the situations of Alexander-Arnold and Isak are incomparable.
"I don't think you can compare Alexander Isak to Trent Alexander-Arnold because Trent didn't do anything wrong," Hamann told CoinPoker.
"If Liverpool wanted to keep him, they could have offered him an improved contract a year earlier, and he probably would have signed it.
"The fact that they didn't, and he let his contract run out, means he's free to go where he wants.
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