Sami Hyypia's decade of service at Liverpool Football Club will end this summer when he joins Bayer Leverkusen on a two-year deal.
Hyypia underwent a medical with the German outfit this morning and will link up with his new teammates in the summer for the start of pre-season training.
The Finnish international has earned legendary status at Anfield for the part he has played in the club's many successes over the past decade - and he will leave Merseyside with the best wishes of every Liverpool supporter.
It's hard to believe he cost the Reds just £2.5million from Dutch outfit Willem II back in May 1999.
After making his Reds debut against Sheffield Wednesday on August 7, 1999, Hyypia quickly formed a watertight partnership with Stephane Henchoz, providing the foundation for a historic treble in 2000-01.
The centre-half wore the captain's armband through much of this momentous campaign in the absence of the injured Jamie Redknapp. He jointly lifted both the UEFA and FA Cups.
Following the departure of Redknapp in April 2002, Gerard Houllier handed his trusty defender the captaincy on a permanent basis, though he'd be replaced by the emerging Steven Gerrard in October 2003.
With the arrival of new boss Rafa Benitez in 2004 came numerous personnel changes, though it was clear Hyypia was going nowhere.
However, he did have a new central-defensive partner in Jamie Carragher, who was at last given a regular slot in his preferred position. Within 12 months they were regarded as one of the most formidable pairings on the continent following Liverpool's Champions League triumph in the Ataturk.
Hyypia scored one of the most memorable goals en route to Istanbul, an unstoppable volley to open the scoring against Juve in the quarter-finals.
Incredibly, he played every minute of 57 consecutive European games for the Reds from November 2001 to February 2006.
The arrival of young centre-halves Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel provided competition for places as Hyypia entered his twilight but, despite sometimes missing out, he continued to climb the club's all-time appearance table. In December 2008 he overtook Ron Yeats to enter the top 20.
History will undoubtedly judge the big Finn to be one of the club's shrewdest pieces of business - and possibly the best pound for pound signing ever to arrive at Anfield.
The Finnish international has earned legendary status at Anfield for the part he has played in the club's many successes over the past decade - and he will leave Merseyside with the best wishes of every Liverpool supporter.
It's hard to believe he cost the Reds just £2.5million from Dutch outfit Willem II back in May 1999.
After making his Reds debut against Sheffield Wednesday on August 7, 1999, Hyypia quickly formed a watertight partnership with Stephane Henchoz, providing the foundation for a historic treble in 2000-01.
The centre-half wore the captain's armband through much of this momentous campaign in the absence of the injured Jamie Redknapp. He jointly lifted both the UEFA and FA Cups.
Following the departure of Redknapp in April 2002, Gerard Houllier handed his trusty defender the captaincy on a permanent basis, though he'd be replaced by the emerging Steven Gerrard in October 2003.
With the arrival of new boss Rafa Benitez in 2004 came numerous personnel changes, though it was clear Hyypia was going nowhere.However, he did have a new central-defensive partner in Jamie Carragher, who was at last given a regular slot in his preferred position. Within 12 months they were regarded as one of the most formidable pairings on the continent following Liverpool's Champions League triumph in the Ataturk.
Hyypia scored one of the most memorable goals en route to Istanbul, an unstoppable volley to open the scoring against Juve in the quarter-finals.
Incredibly, he played every minute of 57 consecutive European games for the Reds from November 2001 to February 2006.
The arrival of young centre-halves Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel provided competition for places as Hyypia entered his twilight but, despite sometimes missing out, he continued to climb the club's all-time appearance table. In December 2008 he overtook Ron Yeats to enter the top 20.
History will undoubtedly judge the big Finn to be one of the club's shrewdest pieces of business - and possibly the best pound for pound signing ever to arrive at Anfield.
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