Former Liverpool ace confirms shock retirement at the age of just 33 – after star found himself still without a club five months on from his Anfield exit

A former Liverpool defender has confirmed his retirement at the age of 33. 

The player in question had been a free agent since leaving Anfield in the summer and has now hung up his boots for good, after 15 years at the highest level in the game.

Liverpool announced the news on their website on Saturday morning, as they paid tribute to his years of service for the club and multiple honours, having been a regular feature at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp.

Joel Matip, who joined the Reds from German side Schalke in 2016, left the club after spending eight years in Merseyside back in May, making only 14 appearances in his last season due to an ACL injury. 

He remained a free agent over the summer, despite his impressive career to date, and being linked with a return to Schalke as well as a move to Hamburg, with no club move appearing by the start of the season. 

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

The club also wished their former player well on X, formerly Twitter, sharing the sweet missive: ‘Congratulations on an excellent career, Joel (raised hands emoji).

‘All the best for your retirement (heart emoji).’ 

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

He won seven trophies with the Reds, including a Premier League title, a Champions League, an FA Cup and a 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 his departure 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 was given a guard of honour by the Liverpool team after it was confirmed he was leaving 

‘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 under-rated 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.’