Andy Robertson’s final Liverpool game will bring an emotional Anfield farewell, but Jurgen Klopp’s first message to the Scot shows just how far he had to come.
The left-back arrived from Hull City in 2017 for £10m and leaves as, for many supporters, the greatest player we’ve ever had in that position.
That journey wasn’t inevitable, though, and Klopp has now explained how honest he was when he first met the then 23-year-old before his Liverpool move.
Speaking in The Anfield Wrap’s One Of Us: Becoming Andy Robertson documentary, Klopp recalled that signing Robertson taught him a lot because he had seen the player, but didn’t yet know the person behind him.
The German said: “When you saw Robbo at Hull playing, you saw his potential offensively and you saw his weaknesses.
“He was involved in so many goals Hull conceded at the far post, it’s crazy. It’s like he’s not there.”
Klopp then explained that Robertson visited his house with his agent, describing him as a “really shy boy” who “didn’t speak a lot”.
The former Liverpool boss added: “I told him, ‘I like everything about what you’re doing offensively and I don’t think I like anything of the things you do defensively.
“‘So if we agree on working on that and you pay completely in, then we will have a lot of fun together.’”
That is harsh at face value, but it also sums up why Robertson became so loved.
The Scotland captain didn’t arrive as the finished article, but he listened, improved and eventually made the position his own in one of the greatest Liverpool sides of the modern era.
Virgil van Dijk has already praised the 32-year-old as a leader by example, and that feels exactly right when looking back on his nine years at Anfield.
Robertson’s Instagram message after the Aston Villa defeat also showed that same character, as he admitted the performance was below Liverpool’s standards before thanking the away supporters.
Sunday should now give us the proper send-off.
Many fans would still have liked Robertson to stay longer, but perhaps leaving people wanting more is the right way for a Liverpool legend to bow out.
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