Players who move on from Liverpool have not had an especially good track record over recent years.
The Reds built a tremendous team under Jurgen Klopp, one which has slowly started to disintegrate over the last few seasons.
Obviously, no player can stay at the club forever and it has been sad to watch heroes of Klopp’s reign depart Liverpool one by one.
By and large, the big names of the Liverpool squad to have departed Anfield since 2021 have not done well. Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino. All have struggled to various degrees.
With two more names now added to the pile this summer, that trend looks like it could be about to continue.
Joel Matip struggling to find new club
It would be untrue to say that every player to have left Liverpool has done badly since their days on Merseyside ended.
Takumi Minamino, for example, has just been voted as Monaco’s player of the season. The Japanese has kicked on after leaving in 2022.
However, the general trend is that once you leave the Reds, the only way is down.
One player who looks like he could unfortunately be about to learn that is former centre-back Joel Matip.
Matip was an incredibly popular figure across eight years at Liverpool. The 32-year-old won the lot and formed a legendary partnership with Virgil van Dijk.
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But having left on a free transfer at the end of the season after injuring his ACL, German outlet Der Westen claim that Matip’s fitness problems are leading to him struggling to find a club.
As a result of top sides being uncertain about bringing him onboard, it’s claimed that Schalke fans have started ‘dreaming’ that Matip may now return.
The Cameroon international came through the youth academy at the Bundesliga 2 side before joining Liverpool in 2016.
However, with Schalke in dire financial straits, it’s said to be virtually impossible that they’d be able to afford their former player’s wages. Nevertheless, the supporters are reportedly longing for a surprise.
Could Joel Matip return to Schalke?
In any ordinary circumstance, you’d have to say that Matip re-joining Schalke in their current state would be completely impossible.
Despite his injury problems, the former Liverpool No.32 has been one of the best defenders in Europe over the past five or six years.
With the Royal Blues languishing in the second division, there’s surely no way that Matip would join them.
Having said that, Matip is not an ordinary footballer. Sacrificing big earnings to go back and play second division football for his boyhood club would be exactly in-keeping with Matip’s personality.
The former Red is as humble as they come and while it would be a slight surprise, no Liverpool supporter would be all that shocked.
The longer Matip goes without a club, perhaps the more likely this becomes. Then again, we’d love to see Matip on the coaching staff at Liverpool, too. Either way, let’s hope Joel lands on his feet soon.
