Andy Robertson announces Liverpool departure at end of season | OneFootball

Andy Robertson has announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

The defender will depart when his contract expires with the club hailing him as a “genuine Liverpool legend” and Robertson saying he has few regrets about his nine years at Anfield.

The Scotland captain, who will join Mohamed Salah in moving on in the summer as the break-up of Jurgen Klopp’s great team continues, is set to go after establishing himself as one of the best left-backs in Liverpool’s history.

Robertson, who said Liverpool mean everything to him and who believes he will always have a smile when he thinks of his time at the club, has won two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the Uefa Super Cup, the FA Cup, two Carabao Cups and the Community Shield in a hugely successful time on Merseyside.

“It’s never easy leaving a club like Liverpool, it has been a huge part of mine and my family’s life for the last nine years,” the 32-year-old said.

“Now is the time for me to move on and go wherever my next move is and wherever my career takes me. I’ll always look back on amazing memories at this football club, I’ve put my heart and soul into the club for nine years and I’ve not got many regrets. I’ve grown as a man and as a person. This club will always mean the world to me, the fans will mean the world to me.

“The nine years, I’ll look back with a big smile on my face. This club means everything to me. The fans mean everything to me. The people connected to the club mean everything to me. And I think I owe it to them still that until my very last day I’ll give everything to this football club.”

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Andy Robertson (left) formed a formidable partnership with former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold (AFP via Getty Images)

Robertson had been appointed vice-captain for this season by head coach Arne Slot but lost his place to summer signing Milos Kerkez and had admitted he wanted to play more first-team football.

Robertson, who is set to captain Scotland in their first World Cup since 1998 this summer, had been in talks with Liverpool about a new contract but had hinted he would move on.

He might have gone in January, when Tottenham were interested in a £5m deal for him when Liverpool, out of respect for the Scot, were willing to let him talk to the relegation-threatened club before deciding they could not allow him to go.

Robertson joined Liverpool for a bargain £8m from Hull in 2017, became a regular part way through his first season and played in the first of his three Champions League finals in 2018.

He and his fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold added an attacking threat to Klopp’s team, with Robertson recording 69 assists in his 373 games for the club. Among defenders, only Alexander-Arnold has more Premier League assists than Robertson, with 70.