Farewell, Andy Robertson: Reflections on One of the Finest Left Backs Anfield Has Seen

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There was barely a dry eye in the house as Liverpool drew 1-1 with Brentford to round out the 2025/26 season.

Not so much at the result, although that in itself was a fitting way to sign off on a campaign that could best be described as average at best, but as Anfield rose to bid a fond farewell to both Mo Salah and Andy Robertson.

Most of the column inches have been dedicated to Salah, of course, and why wouldn’t they be: the Egyptian is, and will forever be, one of the Premier League’s greatest ever players.

But Robertson’s Liverpool career shouldn’t be relegated to a mere footnote. With more than 350 appearances and nine trophies won, the Scot has been a mainstay of some of the finest Reds teams of the modern era.

Modern Great

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Football is and will always be a numbers game.

Clubs, fans and the media will always define success in numerical terms… and Robertson’s stats during his near decade-long stint at Anfield speak for themselves.

Some 378 games may place him just outside the top 30 all-time Liverpool appearance makers, but Robertson has leapfrogged the likes of Robbie Fowler, Mark Lawrenson and Graeme Souness – all club icons in their own right.

His nine winners’ medals don’t get him anywhere close to the all-timers like Alan Hansen and Phil Neal, who won 25 and 24 respectively as part of some of the finest dynasty teams that the Reds have ever seen.

But even so, Robertson has been one of Liverpool’s most decorated players of the contemporary era; a vital cog in Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League and Champions League winning teams.

Of his left back, Klopp’s recollections are simple. “He is the perfect Liverpool player,” the German said.

All told, the Scot claimed two Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cup triumphs – not too shabby from just nine years of service. The UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup were the cherries on the cake.

Other numbers tell the tale. As well as being defensively astute, Robertson has also been a key attacking figure for Liverpool – so much so, his tally of 56 Premier League assists for the club is bettered only by Salah, Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Steve McManaman.

In January 2023, Robertson captained Liverpool for the first time. It’s another esteemed club of which he will forever be immortalised in, with the Scot pulling on the armband nine times in all and also serving as the long-term vice captain to Virgil van Dijk.

All of this from a player that was signed for just £8 million from Hull City… now that’s what you call a bargain.

Adopted Home

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Robbo is a proud Scot and Glaswegian.

There are similarities between Glasgow and Liverpool, both in terms of the working-class communities that support the local football clubs and the no-nonsense nature of their people.

Robertson has found himself a new adopted home, and while the nature of football is such that he will now leave for a new city or perhaps even country, the depth of his love for both the club and the city is evident.

In an open letter penned for the Liverpool Echo, the 32-year-old wrote: “Liverpool will forever define a huge part of my life.

“Honestly, I think the reason me and my family settled so quickly is because Liverpool reminded us so much of home. The humour, the people, the mentality — it all felt familiar straight away.

“To be part of a team that delivered success for them [Liverpool fans] will always mean everything to me. The special days and nights, the trophies, the celebrations, the parades… those memories will stay with me forever.”

A class act on and off the pitch, Robertson is going to take some replacing.

It will be interesting to see if Milos Kerkez is up to the mark. After a shaky start, the 22-year-old – signed from Bournemouth for £40 million in the summer of 2025 – improved in the latter stages of the season, which suggests that Liverpool fans can be hopeful that he’ll kick on next term.

“I think it is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement,” no less a judge than Van Dijk said about the Hungarian. “He is still so young and is getting used to being a Liverpool player; it is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch.

“But with the help of Robbo, and the rest of the team and his own development, I think he is making big progress.”

As well as being a defining force of his own era at Anfield, Robertson could yet have a part to play in the success of his successor, too.