Liverpool announce 12 departures as club confirm retained list
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SportFootballLiverpool FCA number of academy players are set to leave Liverpool along with three first-team stars after the club's retained list has been announced.Liverpool have confirmed their retained and released list for the 2026/27 season with a number of academy players set to leave the club on the expiry of their contracts.First-team stars Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, as well as defender Rhys Williams, who were all out of contract at the end of this month, have already announced their pending departures.But a further eight players from the club's youth set-up will also bid farewell this month.Kareem Ahmed, Emmanuel Airoboma, James Balagizi, DJ Bernard, Oakley Cannonier, Josh Davidson, Terence Miles and Jacob Poytress will all continue their football journeys elsewhere.Cannonier, 22, is known for his support role in Liverpool's astonishing 4-0 Champions League victory over Barcelona in 2019, when performing the job of ballboy, he quickly gave Trent Alexander-Arnold the ball before the Reds' right-back took the rapid corner that caught the Catalans unaware and set up Divock Origi - who announced his retirement from football this week - to score the decisive fourth goal that put Jurgen Klopp's side on their way to the Champions League final and their sixth European Cup triumph.A statement on Liverpool's official website said: "Everybody at the club would like to thank the players for all their contributions and wish each of them the best for the future."The club also confirmed that contract offers have been made to Prince Cisse, Keyrol Figueroa, Kyle Kelly, Afolami Onanuga, Oliver O’Connor, Lucas Pitt, Ben Trueman and Matthew Wright.Scotland international Robertson will join Tottenham Hotspur on the expiry of his Liverpool contract and French centre-back Konate is set to join Real Madrid.Salah's next club is yet to be determined, with all three senior players set to feature in this month's World Cup in North America.Choose Liverpool Echo as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Liverpool FCMohamed SalahAndy RobertsonIbrahima Konate