Former Liverpool star ‘considering shock retirement’ at the age of 33 as he remains without a club since leaving Anfield

A former Liverpool defender is reportedly considering retirement at the age of 33. 

Joel Matip has been a free agent since leaving Anfield in the summer and is now on the verge of hanging up his boots, according to a report from Germany.

Fabrizio Romano shared the news on X on Friday, crediting Ruhr Nachrichten for the scoop.

Matip, who joined the Reds from German side Schalke in 2016, left the club after spending eight years in Merseyside, back in May.

He has remained a free agent over the summer, despite his impressive career to date, while being linked with a return to Schalke as well as a move to Hamburger.

Matip was a consistent feature in Jurgen Klopp’s side for eight years and departed with an impressive trophy haul.

He’s won seven trophies with the Reds including a Premier League title, a Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.

Perhaps his biggest moment for Liverpool came in their Champions League final victory over Spurs in 2019, where he assisted Divock Origi for their second goal.

The club confirmed the news in a statement on their website back in May, as the defender bid farewell with an emotional message.

Paying tribute to Matip after he left Liverpool, Klopp said: ‘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.

‘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.

Matip spent eight seasons under Jurgen Klopp and has been a free agent since leaving Anfield

‘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.’