There are very few examples of players who didn’t flourish under Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. Especially when it came to the signings the German manager made, he was incredibly good at taking players to new levels.
When he first took over in late 2015, Klopp had to spend the first half of his season at Anfield assessing which players in the squad were up to scratch and who needed to be sold. When he got his own players in the door, Liverpool began to look like a real superpower.
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Players like Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson were brought in and transformed – not only their own destiny, but lifted Liverpool to a whole new level. One man who was meant to play a part in Klopp’s revolution on Merseyside, but who failed, was Loris Karius.
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Karius, a £4.75 million signing from Bundesliga club Mainz, was meant to be the end of Liverpool’s goalkeeping woes. After fighting for the shirt with Simon Mignolet, the German was eventually given the responsibility as Klopp’s first goalkeeper.
By the end of their second season, the Reds had reached their first Champions League final since 2007. To get the chance to start in goal as a 25-year-old in such a game, should have been a blessing. Instead, it became notoriously a nightmare.
Karius was directly responsible for two of Real Madrid’s goals as Liverpool lost 3-1. After receiving a heavy blow to the head, the goalkeeper threw the ball straight at Karim Benzema, who saw the ball bounce into the goal. He then slipped a long-range shot from Gareth Bale through his fingers.
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Karius prepared to retire in 2024
Karius spent two years at Newcastle United between 2022 and 2024. He knew he was the second goalkeeper at St. James’ Park, but still only made two appearances for the Magpies, including the 2023 EFL Cup Final.
He enjoyed his time at the Premier League club, but admitted that he had to move on in an interview with SPORTbible:
“I asked myself: ‘Was I the second goalkeeper, and would I get matches?’ It was difficult. The coach would have liked to keep me, but all in all, the overall package didn’t make sense for a third year. It made sense to move on. It was two good years, but it was time for a change.
After leaving the English club, nothing happened in the summer window – Karius turned down a chance to go to Saudi Arabia. After being without a club for over six months, he was picked up by Schalke in a transfer that has given him new life.
But as his wife said in his recent post, there was a part of the now 32-year-old goalkeeper who was preparing for a life without football. He accepted that while he still wanted to play, he was ready to move on to something new if necessary.
“If you’ve been out as long as I have, you must of course consider quitting,” he said.
“I haven’t made a decision yet, because it’s not necessary. I’m still in shape. I still have all the potential and all the skills. But if no door opens, I have to be honest and say to myself: “Look, I have many other things I can invest in that excite me – things I like and can put effort into.” I don’t think it would hit me that hard, because I’ve already gone through this process in recent years.
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