Liverpool flop 'considering retirement' aged 31 after failing to find new club
Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius spent a total of six years at Anfield after arriving under Jurgen Klopp but could be set to quit football at just the age of 31 after a Premier League return
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorEx-Liverpool star Loris Karius is contemplating RETIRING at 31 after failing to find a new club.
The German goalkeeper joined the Reds in 2016 from Mainz. He made 49 appearances for the Anfield club but things did not go to plan - a disastrous performance in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid all-but seeing his Liverpool career brought to an end.
Karius was sent out on loan to Besiktas and Union Berlin before leaving for nothing. He earned a brief Premier League reprieve with Newcastle but was released after just two appearances over as many campaigns.
The stopper has been without a club since then and claims he could potentially hang up his gloves should he not earn an opportunity. Speaking to SPORTbible, Karius said: “If you've been out for as long as I have then you obviously have to consider retirement. I haven’t made a decision yet because there's no need to. I'm still fit. I still have all the potential and the ability.
“But if a door doesn't open then I have to be honest and say to myself, ‘Listen, I've got many other things that I can pursue that excite me, that I enjoy and put effort into.’ I don't think it would hit me that hard because I've already been going through this process over the last few years.”
Karius had very little opportunities at Liverpool after his last appearance. The Reds had signed Alisson from Italian giants Roma, leading to the German leaving on loan.
And he suggests that staying at Anfield might actually have been more beneficial for his career. He added: “I was trying not to pay any interest but you couldn't get away from it all. You still notice.
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“People are telling you. I was getting confronted all the time. And that's why I wanted a fresh start rather than staying at Liverpool, where I could have been behind Alisson, and still getting game time.
“Maybe in the end that would have been the better step but it's difficult to say at that stage. The experience made me stronger as a person. It's part of my story. It's part of my history. At the end of the day, I was a Liverpool player.
“I reached the Champions League final. It didn't play out how I wanted but less than one percent of professional footballers play in a Champions League final. We did great things. You can't deny that.”
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