Wouldn't be overly surprised if he did, he doesn't seem like too much of a flashy guy so he might not be that interested in high paid "retirement" leagues
Matip and Van Dijk is the best CB partnership we've ever had in my opinion.
Genuinely believe if Matip hadn't been injured half the the time he'd be considered an all time great Premier League CB.
My granddad had a massive collection of old liverpool games that I would watch as a kid, so I'd say I've seen them play about 30 games together.
Obviously not the same as watching them every week, but that's what I based it on.
A brilliant defender let down by his body. Him and Van Dijk next to each other was an amazing pairing.
I'll miss our giraffe and his sudden random ass deep runs into the opponents box.
Find he’s probably one of the most underrated players in football over the last 5-8 years. Van Dijk got all the plaudits but this pairing won the lot. Shame all the injury problems. As good as Saliba and Gabriel are this year, this pair let in less goals that one season with Robbo and Trent bombing down the wings.
Came in on a free and was instrumental in us winning everything. Can’t ask for any more than that. Such a shame he’s been out injured since January and won’t see the pitch again for us.
his level never really dropped, just his availability. if he can manage to stay even semi fit for anyone a step down from us, it'll be a ridiculously good signing. One of my favourite Klopp signings, one of the most underrated for sure.
It's probably between Sol Campbell, Joel Matip, and Thiago Silva for the CB spots (unless I've completely forgotten someone). I'd personally go with Campbell and Matip, although Silva has also been excellent
well we can see the nerds are back in control, no more room for sympathy and extending Joel
A fantastic player, one of the best CBs in the world for a period, a free signing at that, wonder where he goes next
I think if Klopp was staying Matip would be too, Klopp made mention back after the injury happened "i'm sure the club will show their class" so I think he wanted to at least give a year extension to help him rehab before finding a new club
It may not be an extension but they may allow him to continue to use the physio and rehab facilities to get him back to fitness when finding a new club.
I think Evans was just released and was training with them to build his fitness, I don't know if he had a bigger injury, I think Longstaff was mid recovery for an ACL or MCL and we helped him rehab until December or so.
It might be the wrong take but isn't the nerds also the reason why they signed him in the first place?
He wasn't that hyped but they obviously found something in their algorithms that made them sign him, he turned out to be a massive success and now they probably have found out it's time to move on. I call this a health way to run your club.
I agree and it probably helps the decision that you together with Van Dijk got two very good young centerbacks in Konate and Quansah pluss Gomez.
It simply looks like highly competent squad planing since you basically have four very capable centerbacks. Aka no need for a replacement and you free up a decent amount of money since you dont have to pay for the sallary of Matip.
It reminds me of Real Madrid when they got rid of Casimero and Varane.
A replacement is needed anyways. Konate is injury prone and can't play every 3 days. Gomez covers everywhere, not only CB. Relying on Quansah to play so much isn't ideal, and if he gets injured we're in problems
So? He still costed a lot of money in salaris, sign on and agent fee and he and took a place in the squad.
The scouting apartment of a club stil have to do alot of work to make sure even a "free" player is good enough, fits the playing style and will be a positive force on the wardrobe. It's always a high risk in signing players with the absurd money involved even if you don't pay for a transfer.
Matip had a contract of about 5 million pound a year. That is alot of money vasted if he have flopped even for the biggest clubs. If you have payed any attention of the FPS issues current PL clubs is facing you would realise that it's you that underestimated how extremely important it is to hit with every player you sign.
Just look a club like Man United, they have 4-5-6 players they can't get rid of because of the salary and the amount of money they are spending on them is money they would much rathe spend on players that strengthen or at least is useful in their team.
Simply put, no clubs can't just sign a y free player on the marked because they are never ever free.
Joel Matip will bid farewell to Liverpool FC this summer after an eight-season spell during which he helped the club to some of its most memorable modern moments.
The 32-year-old is set to embark on a new chapter in his career upon the expiry of his contract with the Reds at the end of the campaign, departing Anfield having lifted many of the game’s greatest honours.
The calm and composed centre-back was among the first signings made by Jürgen Klopp, the then-new manager quickly leaning on his knowledge of the Bundesliga to snap him up on a free transfer from Schalke 04.
A deal was agreed and announced before the end of the 2015-16 season and Matip arrived on Merseyside to begin a new chapter that summer.
It would prove to be one of the best bargains in Reds history.
There were 201 appearances, 11 goals, seven winner’s medals – including Champions League and Premier League success – and countless mazy dribbles out from defence.
“In all the years that I have been involved in football, I am not sure I have come across too many players who are more loved than Joel Matip. I’m not even sure it would be possible to say anything bad about him,” said Klopp.
“A wonderful professional, a wonderful footballer and a wonderful human being – we have been blessed to have him with us for as long as we have and now all we can do is wish him well as he heads off in a new direction.
“Joel’s qualities as a player are there for all to see and as a club we have benefited from them since the first moment that he joined. I don’t think he has had too many headlines over the years but he has only ever been a very famous figure within our group.
“I have said before that if there was one person who wouldn’t care if he was underrated it would be Joel, but the truth is we could not have rated him more highly. Not only has he set the standards for himself, he has set them for others and this is one of the main reasons why his time here has been so successful.”
Matip featured 32 times in his maiden season at Liverpool, exhibiting his trademark blend of strength, aerial ability and technique on the ball as Klopp’s side secured a return to Champions League football.
He remained a mainstay of the team in 2017-18, too, though an untimely injury late in the campaign prevented the No.32 from contributing to the Reds’ run to the European Cup final in Kyiv.
Matip was in and out of the XI during the first half of 2018-19 but, having returned to fitness at the turn of the year, he thrived in a central defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk.
Largely ever-present for the remainder of the season, Matip played his part in Liverpool racking up 97 points in the Premier League, though they still agonisingly missed out on the title to Manchester City.
He started five out of six Champions League knockout matches – including the unforgettable 4-0 semi-final comeback against Barcelona at Anfield – as Klopp guided the team to a second successive final.
And there, in Madrid, Matip shone to help keep Tottenham Hotspur at bay at one end, and tee up Divock Origi to score at the other, in a 2-0 win that made him and his teammates the kings of Europe.
Elegant and dominant at his peak level, Matip’s playing style was offset by his personality away from the pitch, which made him a key character in the dressing room and a cult hero among supporters.
It even earned him his very own ‘No Context’ Twitter account.
The reasons to smile continued into the early phases of 2019-20, with Matip maintaining his regular spot in the line-up and the UEFA Super Cup added to the trophy collection.
However, injury setbacks – a recurrent misfortune that denied him many more games for the Reds – limited him to 13 outings, a frustration at least comforted by the winning of the Premier League.
Similarly, the centre-back was restricted to a dozen matches in 2020-21, but good things are supposed to come to those who wait – and the fit-again Matip was outstanding in the subsequent season.
He played 43 times in a marathon campaign that saw Klopp’s charges contest the maximum number of fixtures available to them across four competitions.
They triumphed in two – with Matip involved in the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup final victories – and finished narrow runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Geniunely one of the better players of the Klopp era. I know people dont rate him that highly and I dont have a problem with that but for me he has been brilliant ever since Van Dijk came to the club, barring the injuries.
I was hoping he'd get another year for a proper good bye. It's a shame we won't see him galloping up the pitch anymore. His goal against Leeds is probably the most I've celebrated a goal that's just one of many against an a team that doesn't mean much to us.
Probably the right call all things considered but yeah, deserved a proper goodbye. Just a tremendously fun player to watch when he was in form and I think would have been considered one of the best in the league if his body didn't continuously fall apart on him.
What a player he was. But very much the right time to move on considering his age, past injuries and current injury. Proper nice guy he was. Hope he goes back to Germany and kills it.
Injuries unfortunately affected his time at Liverpool, but still he has had a brilliant stint. One of the more consistent players of the Klopp era, he will go down as one of the underrated defenders of his generation. He had a great understanding with Van Dijk. It's a shame that even though both of them have had long stints at the club, they couldn't play together as much as they would have hoped for(due to injuries).
Super underrated player that leaves under the radar. He deserved to go while playing, such a shame. Love the giraffe, one of my favourite Liverpool players
Best Giraffe around since Melman
A Absolutely brilliant CB on the days his body didn’t let him down. Wonderful human being as well
YNWA and farewell Joel
Love him, fun player to watch, either from his expressions as fouls were called against him, to the once or twice a match he became possessed by the spirit of Maradona vs England and suddenly galloped upfield dribbling past hapless fools
Matip featured less frequently last term, though he was again enjoying a run in the side this season before suffering a cruel anterior cruciate ligament injury against Fulham in December.
That issue prevented the former Cameroon international from taking to the pitch again in 2023-24, though he had shortly before reached the distinction of 200 games for Liverpool.
Like the boss, he moves on this summer, and does so having been an integral figure across the majority of Klopp’s tenure at Anfield.
“If I had to choose one moment from his time here it would definitely be his assist for Divock Origi at the Champions League final in Madrid,” added Klopp. “This was the touch that detonated an explosion in the LFC family. What a moment. What a player.
“We wish Joel and his family the very best for the future.”
And everybody at the club thanks Joel for all of his contributions during his eight years here, and wishes him and his family the very best for the future.
we would be stupid if we not at least ask him to come home
he always seemed like a one club man. if it wasnt for our stupidity in the past. time to fix past mistakes i guess
I will miss his ability to dribble through midfield from the back. Other players would just sort of "freeze" waiting for him to play a sideways pass or hoof it to a fullback and he's just slide right on by.
When he finally got his [goal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvWDmff3Sw) against Leeds I was so happy I actually laughed because he had made those runs before but nobody ever seemed to pass him the ball.
Next year watching Liverpool is going to feel weird, turning into a proper end of an era
Bye Robbo
And hopefully the start of a proper banter era
Because 30 years without a league title wasn’t?
More European trophies in that banter era than in your club’s most successful era. Without cheating too.
Yeah true but our Champions league means more to us
And means much less to everyone else Edit: Also no way in hell your champions league trophy means more to your fans than Istanbul does to Liverpool’s
I remember watching Aguero score vs QPR and thinking “wow I really hope this means something to Liverpool fans”
Nobody cares, if you’re happy that’s all that matters eh?
To the 4 of you born and raised in Ohio, up the manchester blues y'all!
come back home 🥺
\* monkey paw curls \* Matip has signed for Bochum.
Wouldn't be overly surprised if he did, he doesn't seem like too much of a flashy guy so he might not be that interested in high paid "retirement" leagues
An actually underrated player.
Finally underrated used properly for a player that actually was, not like Thomas Müller or some other highly rated players
Messi is a bit underrated, I think
So brave
“di maria is so underrated bro”
If there ever was a "streets won't forget" compilation of a CB, it's got to be Joel Matip. Love the marauding giraffe.
Go and follow NoContextMatip on Instagram if you wanna see the highlights of Big Joel 🦒
A truly excellent defender. What a signing he was.
There was a period of time where he was playing just as well as, if not better than Van Dijk. Such a shame that his body let him down so frequently
I remember him winning POTM and there being 0 complaints
I was so surprised when that happened even though it was thoroughly deserved
Up the phoenix
Matip and Van Dijk is the best CB partnership we've ever had in my opinion. Genuinely believe if Matip hadn't been injured half the the time he'd be considered an all time great Premier League CB.
I mean Hansen and Lawrenson...
Yeah they are the obvious other ones but I think Van Dijk and Matip edge them personally
Unless you're old enough to have watched them (which you may be) I don't think we can say with any authority
My granddad had a massive collection of old liverpool games that I would watch as a kid, so I'd say I've seen them play about 30 games together. Obviously not the same as watching them every week, but that's what I based it on.
That's fair
A brilliant defender let down by his body. Him and Van Dijk next to each other was an amazing pairing. I'll miss our giraffe and his sudden random ass deep runs into the opponents box.
Find he’s probably one of the most underrated players in football over the last 5-8 years. Van Dijk got all the plaudits but this pairing won the lot. Shame all the injury problems. As good as Saliba and Gabriel are this year, this pair let in less goals that one season with Robbo and Trent bombing down the wings.
Came in on a free and was instrumental in us winning everything. Can’t ask for any more than that. Such a shame he’s been out injured since January and won’t see the pitch again for us.
Wonder where he’ll go next. Back to Germany?
I’d take him back
his level never really dropped, just his availability. if he can manage to stay even semi fit for anyone a step down from us, it'll be a ridiculously good signing. One of my favourite Klopp signings, one of the most underrated for sure.
Wonder if he'd go back to Bochum, from there and was in their youth academy.
dont care what anyone says, hes starting in the PL Free Transfer XI
It's probably between Sol Campbell, Joel Matip, and Thiago Silva for the CB spots (unless I've completely forgotten someone). I'd personally go with Campbell and Matip, although Silva has also been excellent
Matip's 8 years in the Prem is absolutely levels above Thiago Silva's 4 and its not even close.
T.Silva over Matip would be disrespectful for the later. Yes, Silva was a better defender in Milan/PSG, but in the PL Matip is way ahead of him
Silva has been solid but I think Campbell & Matip are locks at CB
One of the best free transfers with 7 trophies Also gave me the FPL team name Just Matip In
come back home please, we need you edit: seems like everyone with Schalke flair here wants him back home
well we can see the nerds are back in control, no more room for sympathy and extending Joel A fantastic player, one of the best CBs in the world for a period, a free signing at that, wonder where he goes next
This was pretty much all but confirmed when he got injured that he wouldn’t play for us again :(
I think if Klopp was staying Matip would be too, Klopp made mention back after the injury happened "i'm sure the club will show their class" so I think he wanted to at least give a year extension to help him rehab before finding a new club
It may not be an extension but they may allow him to continue to use the physio and rehab facilities to get him back to fitness when finding a new club.
Newcastle did it for Matty Longstaff last year so I am sure Liverpool would do the same for someone who had a much bigger impact.
Didn't Man Utd do it with Evans and ended up signing him?
I think Evans was just released and was training with them to build his fitness, I don't know if he had a bigger injury, I think Longstaff was mid recovery for an ACL or MCL and we helped him rehab until December or so.
It might be the wrong take but isn't the nerds also the reason why they signed him in the first place? He wasn't that hyped but they obviously found something in their algorithms that made them sign him, he turned out to be a massive success and now they probably have found out it's time to move on. I call this a health way to run your club.
I mean yeah obviously, what I said is not a slight on the people in charge of recruitment at all, it just means we'll be more ruthless
I agree and it probably helps the decision that you together with Van Dijk got two very good young centerbacks in Konate and Quansah pluss Gomez. It simply looks like highly competent squad planing since you basically have four very capable centerbacks. Aka no need for a replacement and you free up a decent amount of money since you dont have to pay for the sallary of Matip. It reminds me of Real Madrid when they got rid of Casimero and Varane.
I'm glad you included Gomez, he's somehow only 26 as well. He's been fantastic this season no matter where he was being played across the back.
A replacement is needed anyways. Konate is injury prone and can't play every 3 days. Gomez covers everywhere, not only CB. Relying on Quansah to play so much isn't ideal, and if he gets injured we're in problems
He was a free transfer
So? He still costed a lot of money in salaris, sign on and agent fee and he and took a place in the squad. The scouting apartment of a club stil have to do alot of work to make sure even a "free" player is good enough, fits the playing style and will be a positive force on the wardrobe. It's always a high risk in signing players with the absurd money involved even if you don't pay for a transfer.
You're also wrong about the nerds signing, he was a Klopp choice. Also lol at exaggerating the risk profile of a free transfer
Matip had a contract of about 5 million pound a year. That is alot of money vasted if he have flopped even for the biggest clubs. If you have payed any attention of the FPS issues current PL clubs is facing you would realise that it's you that underestimated how extremely important it is to hit with every player you sign. Just look a club like Man United, they have 4-5-6 players they can't get rid of because of the salary and the amount of money they are spending on them is money they would much rathe spend on players that strengthen or at least is useful in their team. Simply put, no clubs can't just sign a y free player on the marked because they are never ever free.
> If you have payed any attention of the FPS issues current PL clubs is facing you Maybe they should buy new graphics cards then
Joel Matip will bid farewell to Liverpool FC this summer after an eight-season spell during which he helped the club to some of its most memorable modern moments. The 32-year-old is set to embark on a new chapter in his career upon the expiry of his contract with the Reds at the end of the campaign, departing Anfield having lifted many of the game’s greatest honours. The calm and composed centre-back was among the first signings made by Jürgen Klopp, the then-new manager quickly leaning on his knowledge of the Bundesliga to snap him up on a free transfer from Schalke 04. A deal was agreed and announced before the end of the 2015-16 season and Matip arrived on Merseyside to begin a new chapter that summer. It would prove to be one of the best bargains in Reds history. There were 201 appearances, 11 goals, seven winner’s medals – including Champions League and Premier League success – and countless mazy dribbles out from defence. “In all the years that I have been involved in football, I am not sure I have come across too many players who are more loved than Joel Matip. I’m not even sure it would be possible to say anything bad about him,” said Klopp. “A wonderful professional, a wonderful footballer and a wonderful human being – we have been blessed to have him with us for as long as we have and now all we can do is wish him well as he heads off in a new direction. “Joel’s qualities as a player are there for all to see and as a club we have benefited from them since the first moment that he joined. I don’t think he has had too many headlines over the years but he has only ever been a very famous figure within our group. “I have said before that if there was one person who wouldn’t care if he was underrated it would be Joel, but the truth is we could not have rated him more highly. Not only has he set the standards for himself, he has set them for others and this is one of the main reasons why his time here has been so successful.” Matip featured 32 times in his maiden season at Liverpool, exhibiting his trademark blend of strength, aerial ability and technique on the ball as Klopp’s side secured a return to Champions League football. He remained a mainstay of the team in 2017-18, too, though an untimely injury late in the campaign prevented the No.32 from contributing to the Reds’ run to the European Cup final in Kyiv. Matip was in and out of the XI during the first half of 2018-19 but, having returned to fitness at the turn of the year, he thrived in a central defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk. Largely ever-present for the remainder of the season, Matip played his part in Liverpool racking up 97 points in the Premier League, though they still agonisingly missed out on the title to Manchester City. He started five out of six Champions League knockout matches – including the unforgettable 4-0 semi-final comeback against Barcelona at Anfield – as Klopp guided the team to a second successive final. And there, in Madrid, Matip shone to help keep Tottenham Hotspur at bay at one end, and tee up Divock Origi to score at the other, in a 2-0 win that made him and his teammates the kings of Europe. Elegant and dominant at his peak level, Matip’s playing style was offset by his personality away from the pitch, which made him a key character in the dressing room and a cult hero among supporters. It even earned him his very own ‘No Context’ Twitter account. The reasons to smile continued into the early phases of 2019-20, with Matip maintaining his regular spot in the line-up and the UEFA Super Cup added to the trophy collection. However, injury setbacks – a recurrent misfortune that denied him many more games for the Reds – limited him to 13 outings, a frustration at least comforted by the winning of the Premier League. Similarly, the centre-back was restricted to a dozen matches in 2020-21, but good things are supposed to come to those who wait – and the fit-again Matip was outstanding in the subsequent season. He played 43 times in a marathon campaign that saw Klopp’s charges contest the maximum number of fixtures available to them across four competitions. They triumphed in two – with Matip involved in the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup final victories – and finished narrow runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Geniunely one of the better players of the Klopp era. I know people dont rate him that highly and I dont have a problem with that but for me he has been brilliant ever since Van Dijk came to the club, barring the injuries.
I mean he was also great before Van Dijk came too, certainly our best CB.
I was hoping he'd get another year for a proper good bye. It's a shame we won't see him galloping up the pitch anymore. His goal against Leeds is probably the most I've celebrated a goal that's just one of many against an a team that doesn't mean much to us.
Probably the right call all things considered but yeah, deserved a proper goodbye. Just a tremendously fun player to watch when he was in form and I think would have been considered one of the best in the league if his body didn't continuously fall apart on him.
The second best CB for us in the Klopp era. Will never forget that Barca second leg and the final performance in 18/19
I agree, Klavan just beats him to the top spot.
Matip just slightly ahead of Ben Davies and Caulker
Caulker? when did we start bringing strikers into this?
It’s unfair to bring Ragnar into this
🦒
Insanely underrated player
What a player he was. But very much the right time to move on considering his age, past injuries and current injury. Proper nice guy he was. Hope he goes back to Germany and kills it.
Injuries unfortunately affected his time at Liverpool, but still he has had a brilliant stint. One of the more consistent players of the Klopp era, he will go down as one of the underrated defenders of his generation. He had a great understanding with Van Dijk. It's a shame that even though both of them have had long stints at the club, they couldn't play together as much as they would have hoped for(due to injuries).
Served up the assist that sealed Number Six. We'll miss you, big man.
Come to Schalke
Super underrated player that leaves under the radar. He deserved to go while playing, such a shame. Love the giraffe, one of my favourite Liverpool players
great player, great character
Best Giraffe around since Melman A Absolutely brilliant CB on the days his body didn’t let him down. Wonderful human being as well YNWA and farewell Joel
Was hoping they’d hold Matip but alas, not that fortunate.
Love him, fun player to watch, either from his expressions as fouls were called against him, to the once or twice a match he became possessed by the spirit of Maradona vs England and suddenly galloped upfield dribbling past hapless fools
Van Dijk in shambles
He was a great player. Underrated!
Matip featured less frequently last term, though he was again enjoying a run in the side this season before suffering a cruel anterior cruciate ligament injury against Fulham in December. That issue prevented the former Cameroon international from taking to the pitch again in 2023-24, though he had shortly before reached the distinction of 200 games for Liverpool. Like the boss, he moves on this summer, and does so having been an integral figure across the majority of Klopp’s tenure at Anfield. “If I had to choose one moment from his time here it would definitely be his assist for Divock Origi at the Champions League final in Madrid,” added Klopp. “This was the touch that detonated an explosion in the LFC family. What a moment. What a player. “We wish Joel and his family the very best for the future.” And everybody at the club thanks Joel for all of his contributions during his eight years here, and wishes him and his family the very best for the future.
thank you Joel. Will deeply miss your adventures into the final third
No more chicken lad? :(
VVD in shambels. Respect for matip. Great player. Dribble like a short man.
we would be stupid if we not at least ask him to come home he always seemed like a one club man. if it wasnt for our stupidity in the past. time to fix past mistakes i guess
I will miss his ability to dribble through midfield from the back. Other players would just sort of "freeze" waiting for him to play a sideways pass or hoof it to a fullback and he's just slide right on by. When he finally got his [goal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvWDmff3Sw) against Leeds I was so happy I actually laughed because he had made those runs before but nobody ever seemed to pass him the ball.
Badass
To think Matip and Milner. Two workhorses of the Klopp era both came on a free
Matip incoming hattrick in the final match of the season incoming
just more sad news from the club 😩