The setting was the five-star Althoff Seehotel Uberfahrt on the banks of Lake Tegernsee in the Bavarian Alps.
It was late July 2017, and Andy Robertson had arrived at Liverpool’s training camp in Germany following the completion of his £8million ($10.7m) move from Hull City.
The heat was punishing and the intensity of those early sessions under Jurgen Klopp proved to be a culture shock for the Scottish left-back, who was playing catch-up having missed the club’s pre-season trip to Hong Kong.
As he pulled up a seat in the hotel’s function room to carry out the first external media duties of his Liverpool career, a sense of appreciation and excitement shone through.
He talked about the hurdles he had overcome, such as being released by his boyhood club Celtic aged 15 because they thought he was too small. “Looking back on it now, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It really helped me become the man I am,” he said.
Robertson had joined amateur Scottish fourth-tier outfit Queen’s Park where he made his first-team debut against Berwick Rangers in front of a crowd of just 372 in July 2012. A few weeks later, the then 18-year-old had posted on social media: “Life at this age is rubbish with no money.”
To make ends meet during his time at Queen’s Park, he answered the phones at the ticket office of Scotland’s national stadium, Hampden Park, working from 9am to 5pm and then training at 6pm.
Robertson in action for Queens Park in 2012 (Jeff Holmes/SNS Group via Getty Images)
He had agreed with his parents to give it one more year to pursue his ambition of becoming a professional footballer. He had considered getting qualified to become a PE teacher.
However, a Plan B wasn’t required. His form earned him a move to top-flight Dundee United in 2013 and within 12 months he had been crowned Scotland’s Young Player of the Year, made his senior international debut and made a £3million move to Premier League side Hull City, where he spent three years.
In 2017, Liverpool had initially intended to pursue a deal for Roma left-back Emerson Palmieri, but that was shelved when the Brazilian tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
The club’s data analysis department, led by director of research Ian Graham, put forward Robertson as the perfect alternative. They felt that Hull’s collective struggles meant that rivals had overlooked his attacking threat. There were question marks over elements of his defending, but Klopp told Graham that they could be solved by work on the training field and extra cover from midfield. The German coach was more interested in what he could provide going forward.
Reflecting on his first meeting with Klopp, Robertson said: “The manager was asking me about my story. He liked my journey from the very bottom of Scottish football to where I am now. When Liverpool come in for you, it’s a no-brainer.”
Nearly nine years on and 377 appearances later, Robertson is preparing to wave goodbye at Anfield on Sunday. To mark the occasion, a new mural has been unveiled in his honour on the corner of Tancred Road and Rockfield Road close to the stadium with the caption: ‘Born in Glasgow, made in Liverpool’.
The new Andy Robertson mural in Anfield nearly completed #LFC 🎨 pic.twitter.com/j8oxJtRcXE
— ScouseScene (@scousescene) May 18, 2026
He leaves with legendary status cemented courtesy of two Premier League titles, a Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup, a Club World Cup, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
“I feel privileged to have watched him for so long and I feel grateful for what he’s given to this club,” Liverpool chairman Tom Werner tells The Athletic. “Andy is humble and driven. He’s loved so much because he wears his heart on his sleeve. What I’ve always admired about him is that he plays every minute like it’s the most important minute of the game. You can see what it means to him. His commitment is unwavering.
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“He’s been a huge part of the success we’ve enjoyed over the past decade. If your son or daughter became a footballer, you’d want them to play like Andy Robertson.”
Liverpool aren’t just losing arguably the greatest left-back in their history, but their vice-captain and a man who epitomises the qualities that supporters hold dear.
“We were all sat on the bench laughing,” former Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg tells The Athletic. “We were saying: ‘What is he doing? This isn’t normal!’ That was classic Robbo — chasing and hassling opponents like his life depended on it.”
It was January 2018 and Klopp’s side were on the brink of inflicting a first Premier League defeat of the season on leaders Manchester City. Liverpool were 4-1 up with 15 minutes to go, but Robertson wasn’t in the mood to back off.
Having initially pressed Bernardo Silva close to halfway, he then tore after Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ederson and then Nicolas Otamendi. Anfield roared its approval.
It was only six weeks earlier that Alberto Moreno’s ankle injury handed Robertson a route into the team after a frustrating start to his Anfield career.
“Jurgen felt he needed some time to adapt to what was required both with and without the ball,” Achterberg adds. “It was a big step up from Hull and initially Robbo found it tough.
“He had to be patient and in those early months he must have thought: ‘Am I ever going to get a chance here?’ But I remember he started at Brighton just before Christmas. Then you could see that he was ready. We had a new first-choice left-back.”
Andy Robertson found out just how demanding Jurgen Klopp could be (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Living in the town of Formby, 12 miles north of the city centre, Robertson was keen to experience what Liverpool had to offer. His first night out in the city ended in the dive bar, Salt Dog Slims, on Seel Street. As his profile grew, joining family and friends on trips like that became more difficult but he would still regularly visit restaurants in the Castle Street area.
When he heard that a young Liverpool fan had donated his pocket money to the local foodbank, Robertson wrote to Alfie Radford, thanking him for the gesture. He included a signed Roberto Firmino shirt with the message: ‘No one wants the left-back’s shirt’.
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They soon did. The understanding he struck up with Sadio Mane down that flank helped Klopp’s side exceed all expectations in reaching the 2018 Champions League final. Defeat by Real Madrid in Kyiv cut deep and he couldn’t sleep on the flight home. After arriving back on Merseyside, he tried to take his mind off it by heading straight to his local Homebase DIY store to buy and assemble a barbecue.
With Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold providing the ammunition from out wide, Liverpool’s front three of Mane, Firmino and Mohamed Salah were able to wreak havoc. The two dynamic full-backs, spurred on by a friendly rivalry, provided a remarkable 28 assists between them in 2018-19, 27 the following campaign and 33 in 2021-22.
“My favourite memories of Robbo are those early seasons when we were breaking through together,” Alexander-Arnold, who left for Real Madrid last summer, tells The Athletic. “We were just smashing records left, right and centre. We were changing the way that full-backs played football forever. In many years to come, I think people will look back on our Liverpool team and see us as full-backs who changed the game.”
Robertson with his good friend and fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
What makes Robertson so special?
“It’s his character, the relentlessness, the work ethic,” Alexander-Arnold adds. “He’s funny and a great team-mate to have. An amazing player and person. For me, the hardest thing in football, and something that every player will struggle with at some point, is consistency. No matter who we were playing against, every single game I’d go out on that pitch knowing that Robbo would always give us the same level of elite performance. He always delivered on the things that mattered.
“That’s the hardest thing to do — and he made it look easy. I believe he’s massively underrated and without a doubt will go down as a Liverpool legend, a Premier League legend and a footballing legend.”
How Robertson savoured victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 Champions League final. He was still celebrating with Sir Kenny Dalglish in Madrid’s Eurostars Hotel when the lights came on at 6am the following morning. “In a couple of weeks, you’ll realise what you’ve done,” Dalglish told him.
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His fellow Scot had been there to welcome him on his first day at Melwood nearly two years earlier and they had remained in contact. That bond was a source of great pride for Robertson’s father Brian, who had grown up in Glasgow idolising Dalglish.
The Premier League crown followed in 2019-20 as Liverpool’s 30-year wait for the top-flight title was ended. Robertson didn’t score many but there was a crucial one in a dramatic late win at Aston Villa which turbo-charged their pursuit of glory. Spanish goalkeeper Adrian had joined the club from West Ham United at the start of that campaign.
“I really loved seeing the energy Robbo had every day,” Adrian says. “He lifted the dressing room constantly and set the tone with his intensity and quality.
“Always joking, always talking, always winding people up, especially in training. He kept everyone entertained. He plays every game with aggression, passion and unbelievable work rate, but he’s also a top leader. Liverpool wouldn’t have achieved what they did without him. Leadership, character and elite performances, season after season.”
Kostas Tsimikas was signed from Olympiacos in 2020 to provide competition but Robertson’s consistency ensured that the Greece international remained an understudy.
Robertson’s tally of 15 assists in 2021-22 was the best return of his career. Klopp’s side won a domestic cup double, but agonisingly missed out on the Premier League title to City by a point and lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid in Paris.
“During our best times was there a better left-back in world football? I don’t think so,” Achterberg adds. “There was no one like Robbo providing that kind of energy, power, closing down like crazy, defending and creating.
“He did the running of two players. He helped set the tone in matches. When Jurgen talked about ‘mentality monsters’, Robbo epitomised that. When you look at what he cost and what he’s given Liverpool, pound for pound, he has to be one of the best transfers in the club’s history.”
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Suggestions that he had enjoyed some kind of fairytale rise were a source of minor irritation. Not because Robertson craved greater recognition but because he wanted youngsters dreaming of following in his footsteps to understand the sacrifices that are required in order to maximise their talent. Nothing had come easy.
“Robbo’s story is one that the academy staff and I have talked about to so many age groups here over the years,” says Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe. “It’s a tale of incredible resilience and perseverance. He’s had to constantly prove himself.
“He isn’t someone who just breezed through the academy system — making the transition effortlessly from youth to under-21s to first-team. It didn’t just all fall into place for him. He had to deal with setbacks and each time he dusted himself off and went again. He had to fight so hard to achieve his dreams and that’s a powerful message to all our youngsters coming through.”
Robertson missed most of Arne Slot’s first pre-season due to an ankle ligament injury he had carried through Euro 2024 and found himself rotated with Tsimikas during the early stages of 2024-25. The pecking order became blurred. “I’ve got doubters for the first time in a long time,” he told reporters after a home win over Aston Villa.
He won that battle as he regained his place and helped Liverpool clinch the Premier League title. After the 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham, there was the wholesome sight of Robertson inviting over the ball boys from the club’s academy to join their heroes in a celebratory huddle in front of the Kop. He had recognised teenage Scottish left-back Cameron Williams, who he had previously trained with on international duty.
When Liverpool paid Bournemouth £40million for Milos Kerkez last summer, Robertson knew his days as the club’s first-choice left-back were numbered. There was interest from Atletico Madrid and Milan but he opted to stay for the final year of his contract. Slot handed him the vice-captaincy following Alexander-Arnold’s departure.
The death of his close friend Diogo Jota last July hit him hard. He had attended Jota’s wedding to long-term partner Rute Cardoso just 11 days earlier with his wife Rachel. The leadership he showed in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy as players and staff flew to Portugal for the funeral, parking his own grief to provide support to others, further enhanced his standing internally.
Robertson carries flowers alongside Virgil van Dijk at the funeral of Diogo Jota (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
After Scotland qualified in November for their first World Cup since 1998, the national team captain couldn’t hold back the emotion. “I’ve hid it well, but today I’ve been in bits,” he said. “I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today. We spoke so much about going to the World Cup because he missed the last one with Portugal, and I did with Scotland. I know he’ll be smiling over me today.”
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This season has been tough on several different levels for Robertson, with only 10 league starts for Liverpool. Tottenham tried to sign him in January but he didn’t push for a move.
Staff across different departments at the club’s Kirkby training complex connect with him more than any other member of the squad. On a day off late in the winter transfer window, he got a group together as he wanted to experience some traditional pubs in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter before he left. He ended up behind the bar pulling a pint in Ye Cracke. The night finished with a meal at one of his favourite haunts, Italian restaurant Cucina di Vincenzo, in the Childwall area of the city.
A keen horse-racing fan, Robertson has organised trips to the Cheltenham Festival in recent years and has regularly offered spaces in his Anfield executive box to club staff and their families.
He’s provided opportunities for so many youngsters through the work of his foundation, AR26, while he and his wife have supported the fundraising efforts of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Two of their three children were born at Liverpool Women’s Hospital nearby.
His message this week to those team-mates he will be leaving behind included the words: “Being at this club, the privilege is yours.” It embodies how he’s led his life.