Andy Robertson already knows his dream move after confirming Liverpool exit

Andy Robertson has confirmed he will leave Liverpool when his contract expires this summer, with the left-back already being strongly linked with a new club ahead of his Anfield departure

Andy Robertson has spent the last nine years at Liverpool(Image: Getty)

Andy Robertson will conclude an extraordinary nine-year stint at Liverpool when the current campaign finishes - and he may have already hinted at his next destination.

The Scotland captain has announced his departure from the Premier League champions upon the expiry of his contract this summer. Robertson has claimed every significant honor on offer at Anfield - including two Premier League crowns and a Champions League triumph - and will exit as one of the club's finest ever defenders.

The left-back arrived as an £8 million ($11M) bargain from Hull City in 2017 but is now searching for a new employer. And the 32-year-old may have already revealed his dream destination for the 2026-27 campaign.

In comments made four years ago, Robertson admitted his ambition to represent Scottish giants Celtic - the team he supports. The experienced defender emphasized his wish to join the Hoops while still performing at his peak, rather than at the twilight of his career, reports the Express.

He told BT's Currie Club podcast: "Every time I watch Celtic, I consider it. When you watch them and see a packed Celtic Park... as a fan you always have that dream. Ideally I want to finish my career here at Liverpool. If I can stay at the top of my game, at the top of the tree my whole career, that's the route I want to go down.

"But also, when I look at Celtic and when I was growing up, I was thinking I wanted to give them my best years. When I was at Queen's Park I had a dream of still playing with Celtic and always dreamed of giving my best years to Celtic.

Andy Robertson's Liverpool contract expires this summer(Image: Getty)

"And now I don't want to go as a 34 or 35-year-old old guy that my uncles start hating on me because I can't move any more! Time will tell. I'm very much a person who lives in the moment. I don't look too far ahead and I don't often look back. There will be a time for that."

Robertson opened up about his choice to depart Liverpool on Thursday, stating: "I think I feel better now that it's out in the open. The hardest bit [in] the last certainly couple of weeks and months is some people that are close to me in the training ground don't know and more importantly, the fans.

"The closer it gets, the more and more questions you start to get. I've always said that the fans are the most important people at this club and I just think now is the time to tell them what's going on and that obviously this will be my last year.

"I just think it's better being out in the open, that now I can fully focus on the team from now until the end of the season. I think it's important that I do that, I've always done that.

"But the time to have the emotional farewell and tell the fans and the people connected to this club what they mean to me, that will come closer to the end. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. It's just to try to get it out there so I can now be open and honest with everyone."

Robertson may finalize terms with his future employers ahead of skippering Scotland at this summer's World Cup. The ex-Dundee United and Queen's Park man came close to joining Tottenham Hotspur in January before the deal hit a roadblock.

According to The Athletic though, Spurs are in pole position to sign Robertson this summer, provided they avoid relegation from the Premier League.

"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," Robertson added. "But for me, players move on, other people move on - the thing that stays the same is the club and obviously the fans.

Andy Robertson could join Tottenham after his departure from Liverpool in the summer(Image: Getty Images)

"I've had an amazing nine years here. Look, I think it has been well-documented, especially over the last year or so, I've had opportunities to leave and I've not taken them because of how difficult it is to leave this club. And I wouldn't change that for the world.

"But I know football moves on, I know teams move on and I think 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. It has been a hell of a journey."