NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.26: Andy Robertson
Years: 2017-2026
Appearances: 378
Goals: 14
Trophies: Champions League (2019), UEFA Super Cup (2019), FIFA Club World Cup (2019), Premier League (2019-20, 2024-25), League Cup (2022, 2024), FA Cup (2022)
Andy Robertson helped redefine the role of a full-back and was a pillar of Liverpool’s modern-day successes during an unforgettable nine years at the club.
It has long been said that any successful Reds team requires a Scot within it, and in the whirling No.26 on the left flank they discovered one of the best ever to pitch up at Anfield from north of the border.
“Life at this age is rubbish with no money,” Robertson, then 18, posted on social media late one night in August 2012. “#needajob”.
Within seven years, he was a Champions League winner with Liverpool.
Released by boyhood team Celtic, a journey via Queen’s Park, Dundee United and Hull City brought the determined defender to Merseyside in 2017 – in truth, with sober fanfare.
He featured little during his opening half-season under Jürgen Klopp, too, but having finally broken into the XI around the turn of the year, owned the position thereafter.
A lung-busting, crowd-rousing press up the pitch amid a 4-3 thriller with Manchester City in January 2018 captured Kopites’ hearts as Robertson began to exhibit his wide range of qualities and helped Klopp’s men reach the Champions League final.
Vigilant and disciplined when protecting his own box, the left-back was a huge threat when attacking the opposition’s, haring up and down, up and down, up and down the touchline.
He featured 97 times and set up 25 goals across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, which saw Liverpool accumulate 196 Premier League points, lift the European Cup, end the club’s 30-year wait for a league title and be crowned world champions for the first time in history.
Life was certainly not rubbish anymore.
In a beautifully balanced accord with Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right side, Robertson contributed to a shift in the game as a whole regarding what a full-back could – and had to – do in a team.
“His story is an absolute dream, and one of the best examples,” said Klopp. “And I cannot imagine him having this career in a different club. He is the perfect Liverpool player.”
His passion overflowed as if he were a supporter sent onto the pitch to play, making for memorable celebrations when he popped up with a goal – such as a Merseyside derby opener in front of the Kop in 2022.
Having also won two League Cups and an FA Cup before Klopp was succeeded by Arne Slot in the dugout, Robertson was involved in 33 matches as Liverpool cruised to the Premier League title in 2024-25.
A 5-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the championship on a jubilant afternoon in front of supporters, scenes that came in stark contrast to the behind-closed-doors necessity in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You can’t beat what we experienced today and how we went to the ground and the fans during and after the game,” said Robertson. “Nothing quite compares to that and I’m glad we got to experience it that way as well.”
Almost always fit and available, Robertson’s leadership influence grew along the way, and the Scotland skipper was appointed Reds vice-captain ahead of his final campaign with the club.
Season nine saw him pull the Liverpool shirt on another 36 times, and bag three more goals, before a special send-off as Anfield saluted his incredible service.
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