Andy Robertson is being eyed by Atletico Madrid for a surprise transfer this summer, but back in 2020 the Liverpool full-back wasn’t too enamoured with Diego Simeone’s men
Andy Robertson might feel the legendary wrath of Diego Simeone if the Atletico Madrid boss recalls the 2020 comments made by his new transfer target.
Scottish left-back Robertson has emerged as a surprise target for Atletico this summer, with the 31-year-old having just one year left on his contract at Liverpool, who are closing in on the signing of Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.
Robertson has been a mainstay of the Liverpool defence since joining in 2017 and first breaking into the team on a sustained basis around five months later.
But he now finds himself mulling over a potential move to the Spanish capital just days after long-term full-back partner Trent Alexander-Arnold completed his own switch to Real Madrid.
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Robertson is said to be open to the move in the knowledge that the arrival of Kerkez for around £45million could push him down the pecking order after making 342 appearances for the Reds ever since a bargain £8m move from Hull City eight years ago.
And it was three years into his Anfield career that he first came face to face with Atletico, who were drawn against Liverpool in the last-16 of the Champions League in the 2019-20 season.
The Reds went to the Wanda Metropolitano – where they had won the 2019 Champions League final – for the first leg and slipped to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of an early goal from Saul Niguez, who punished slack defending from a corner.
Robertson was left frustrated with the manner of the goal and furious at Atletico’s style of play on the night, with the Reds star accusing the home players of simulation and of trying to get Sadio Mane sent off.
“The corner just ricocheted, it was tight but onside,” said Robertson after the game. “We gave them the best possible start and that get the fans behind them and then they start falling over and getting under the skin a bit.
“We put in a decent performance and we know we can be better. We’ve got a second leg to put it right.
“They celebrated as if they won the tie after the game. They are coming to Anfield and we know our fans will be there.”
In the event, Liverpool would lose the second leg 3-2 after extra-time to exit the Champions League to Simeone’s side in what would prove to be the last match played on British soil prior to football’s shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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