Joel Matip says enough: ex-Liverpool player announces retirement

Joel Matip announces his retirement. The now former Cameroonian defender decided to hang up his boots at the age of 33, after almost 350 games and 10 titles between Schalke 04 and Liverpool. The English club made the player’s decision known through a long commemorative message.

“Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from football. The central defender left the Reds in the summer after an eight-year spell during which he racked up 201 appearances and numerous major honors for the club.

Hired on a zero-sum basis from Schalke 04 in 2016, Matipè was a key figure during Jürgen Klopp’s tenure as coach, helping to secure their return to the Champions League and becoming a key player in the race for glory in the competition in 2019, including an assist for Divock Origi in the Madrid final against Tottenham Hotspur. Matipè starred in Liverpool’s UEFA Super Cup victory and was involved in nine Premier League games in 2019-20 as Klopp’s side ended the club’s 30-year wait to become champions of England again.

After a long-term injury ended his 2020-21 season, the former Cameroonian national returned to top form as the Reds launched a quadruple bid the following season.

Number 32 made 43 appearances, the most in a single season for the club, and appeared in both finals when the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup were lifted at Wembley, while he and his teammates also finished second in the top flight and the Champions League. He continued to be an important member of the squad in 2022-23 and the start of 2023-24, but a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered last December prevented him from playing for the club again.

Matip and his fans said goodbye at Anfield on the final day of last season, before his contract expired, and he has now confirmed that his playing career has come to an end.

He previously spent seven years representing Schalke at senior level, after rising through the club’s youth ranks and winning the German Cup with the club in 2011. In international football, Matip made 27 appearances and scored one goal for Cameroon, with who played. at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. All of us at LFC wish Joel and his family the best for the future,” the Liverpool statement said.