Nine years, 378 appearances and eight major trophies. Andy Robertson’s time at Liverpool is over, and the Scotland international said goodbye in a manner that’s earned him praise and admiration from supporters of Liverpool’s rivals.

Robertson will join Mohamed Salah in leaving the Reds this summer, bringing an end to an era that delivered a Champions League, and both of Liverpool’s Premier League titles. Their departures leave only Vigil van Dijk and Alisson as the only players still in the Liverpool fold today who started their Champions League final victory in 2019.

Robertson is almost certainly staying put in the Premier League and joining Tottenham, now that they’ve survived relegation, whilst Salah is highly tipped to be moving out of England to the Turkish Super Lig.

Andy Robertson’s Tribute to Rivals in Last Interview

Robertson started in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Brentford on the final day of the Premier League season and was brought off in the 83rd minute, with Anfield full of applause for the Scot.

His post-match interview with Sky Sports alongside Salah wasn’t what most people expected. Rather than focusing solely on his own departure, Robertson used the platform to pay tribute to two other figures also leaving English football on the same day:

“For me, there are two other people leaving clubs today that are pretty important,” Robertson said.

Guardiola is set to leave City after ten years at the Etihad, a decade in which he turned Manchester City into the dominant force in English football. Guardiola will take up a role as an ambassador for the City Football Group, which owns Manchester City, highlighting that he won’t be going back into management for “a while.”

Robertson also took a moment to acknowledge Everton captain Seamus Coleman, another long-serving figure stepping away from top-flight football, in what was a genuinely warm and generous interview from a player who had every right to make it purely about himself.

The Reaction of Premier League Fans to Robertson’s Tribute

The interview struck a chord with supporters across the country, and the response on social media reflected it. A Manchester United fan admitted: “Never been a huge fan of Robertson but he’s earned my respect with that.”

A Manchester City supporter wrote: “This is absolutely class from Andy Robertson. The respect between City and Liverpool, Pep and Klopp & the players is incredible. It’s the end of perhaps the greatest rivalry the Premier League has seen, purely on the kind of football both teams played. You’ll never see it again.” And another summed him up as a “class act.”

Even Everton supporters, for whom Robertson has been a familiar pantomime villain over the years, found themselves won over. “This immediate face-turn from him as soon as he’s leaving them has left me quite astounded to be honest. He’s the one of theirs that I’ve hated the most all these years.” Another, more simply, offered: “Class act. Respect.”

A Liverpool supporter perhaps put it best: “What a guy Robbo is. A true professional and proper sound lad. What a privilege it has been to watch him play for Liverpool.”

Sporting history will be made in Las Vegas this weekend as the very ever Enhanced Games takes place in Sin City.

The controversial event will see athletes from multiple disciplines, including track and field, competing while being permitted to openly use performance-enhancing drugs [PEDs].

Unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of concern over whether it is safe (or ethical) to encourage athletes to use substances which could be damaging to their long-term health.

Enhanced Games Rules Explored

While the Enhanced Games has been marketed as an ‘anything goes’ competition, there are limits on what athletes can use to help their performance.

Only substances approved by America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are allowed to be taken. However, it still means many drugs that are banned at Olympic level can be taken without penalty, including:

• Testosterone and anabolics (i.e. methenolone and nandrolone).
• Hormones and growth factors (i.e. human growth hormone and EPO).
• Metabolic modulators (i.e. meldonium and or stimulants).

However, the idea of being able to compete without being drug tested isn’t the only potential appeal to athletes who aren’t against ‘juicing’ [the act of taking PEDs].

Among notable names to compete in the debut edition of the games are Hafthor ‘The Mountain’ Bjornsson and two-time Olympic 100m medal winner Fred Kerley.

In addition, the Enhanced Games will also offer significantly higher prize money than that which is on offer at the Olympic Games. Notably, every athlete who competes in Vegas this weekend will receive some financial reward, no matter where they place.

World Athletics only started awarding prize money to Olympic gold medal winners at Paris 2024, with $50,000 on offer to those who scooped first place in any given event.

That sum is the same amount that the Enhanced Games will pay to athletes who finish in fourth place – and the cash on offer only grows for higher finishes.

The Prize Money at the Enhanced Games Compared to the Olympics

Those who place third will bank $75,000, with second-place being worth $125,000. An Enhanced Games gold medal, meanwhile, will guarantee its recipient $250,000 – five times more than is available to Olympic champions.

There’s even more financial incentives up for grabs in certain events, as well. In selected disciplines, such as the 100-metre sprint, there is a $250,000 bonus available to any athlete who betters a current world record.

These ‘world records’ won’t count officially because of the rules surrounding PEDs at the Enhanced Games. However, any athlete that manages to surpass a record in a relevant event will receive an eye-watering $250,000 bonus on top of their prize money.

Granted, the Enhanced Games doesn’t yet come with the same sponsorship opportunities (which is where many high-profie stars earn the majority of their income), but it’s easy to see why the Donald Trump Jr-backed project is making waves.

The Premier League season is over, and while the final day failed to deliver the drama that many fans have been used to in recent years, the table finished largely as it was going into the final matches of the season.

Arsenal were already confirmed as champions, the European places had settled, and the only real movement at the top end of the table would have required a series of results that would’ve defied all the odds.

The one story that had any hope of producing drama was in the battle for survival. With Wolves and Burnley already doomed to the Championship weeks ago, West Ham needed to win and hope Tottenham slipped up at home to Everton in order to move out of 18th place.

The Hammers did their part, beating Leeds United 3-0 at the London Stadium. But Joao Palhinha’s goal was enough to give Spurs a 1-0 win over Everton, and in doing so confirmed West Ham’s relegation. It was a painful end to a difficult season for a club that lifted the Europa Conference League just three years ago.

With the final positions now confirmed, all 20 clubs will receive their share of the Premier League’s merit prize money, distributed based on where they finish in the table.

20-16

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest

Wolves finished bottom of the pile, collecting just £2.7 million in merit prize money, a figure that highlights the financial devastation that accompanies relegation. Wolves themselves have had serious financial issues in recent years, with a need to sell their best players year-on-year, without replacing them, a key reason for their drop to the Championship.

Burnley join them in the bottom two on £5.4 million, while West Ham, whose relegation was the last to be confirmed, receive just £8.1 million.

Tottenham, who survived by the skin of their teeth, take home £10.8 million, a figure that their fans will hardly care for given how priceless Premier League survival is. Europa League semi-finalists, Nottingham Forest, round out the bottom five with £13.5 million.

15-11

Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Everton, Newcastle United, Fulham

Crystal Palace occupy 15th, collecting £16.2 million, with the Europa Conference League final to look forward to as some consolation for a modest league campaign and what will be Oliver Glasner’s last match in charge of the Eagles.

Leeds United, in their first season back in the top-flight after promotion, take home £18.9 million for 14th, a respectable return for a newly promoted side finding their feet again at the top level. Everton scooped £21.6 million for 13th, completing their first ever Premier League season away from Goodison Park.

Newcastle’s £24.3 million return for a 12th-place finish will make for uncomfortable reading at St James’ Park. Given their ambitions and investment that’ve gone into the club in recent years, Eddie Howe is now facing calls for his sacking, and many of their top players are linked with moves away. Fulham round out the group with £27 million for an 11th-place finish.

10-6

Chelsea, Brentford, Brighton, Sunderland, Bournemouth

Chelsea’s 10th-place finish, their second-worst in the Premier League, and £29.7 million payout represent another disappointing return for the reigning Club World Cup champions. They’ve spent mind-blowing sums of money in recent transfer windows, but Xabi Alonso will have to make do with taking over a club with a smaller budget in the summer, with European football and the revenue that comes with it now out of the window.

Brentford’s £32.4 million for ninth reflects another solid season from a club consistently punching above their weight. Brighton collected £35.1 million for eighth, while Sunderland’s seventh-place finish and £37.8 million payout is the success story of this section, back in the Premier League for the first time in years and finishing higher than anyone would’ve predicted.

Bournemouth finished sixth and grabbed £40.5 million, another remarkable season from a club that continues to exceed expectations, but they’ll go into next season and their first-ever European campaign with Marco Rose in charge, who replaces Andoni Iraola, who’s heavily tipped to take the Newcastle job if Eddie Howe is given his marching orders.

5-1

Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal

Liverpool’s fifth-place finish yields £43.2 million, though the mood at Anfield will be one of reflection rather than celebration, given the standards they’d set in recent seasons. Mohamed Salah has played his final match for the Reds and they will need to try and restore their challenge at the very top of the league without their all-time highest scorer in the Premier League.

Europa League champions Aston Villa collect £45.9 million for fourth place, securing Champions League football for a second time in three seasons. Manchester United’s third-place finish under Michael Carrick earns them £48.6 million and a Champions League spot, a significant turnaround from earlier in the season under Ruben Amorim. United’s Bruno Fernandes made history on the final day, taking the all-time assist record for himself and earning Premier League Player of the Season honours.

Manchester City take £51.3 million for second. Despite winning an FA Cup and League Cup double, the Premier League title was the one City fans would have wanted to win before waving goodbye to Pep Guardiola.

And Arsenal, the champions, collect the maximum merit prize money of £54 million, a fitting financial reward for a title-winning season that ended a 22-year wait. It could yet get better and more lucrative for the Gunners, who’ll play in the Champions League final against PSG a week after lifting the trophy.