Former Liverpool and Newcastle United goalkeeper Loris Karius has admitted he’s considered retirement after a long time without playing.
The 31-year-old is unfortunately most well remembered for his awful performance for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, when he pretty much threw the ball against Karim Benzema for the opening goal, and later let a long-range Gareth Bale effort slip through his hands.
Karius has since had a spell at Newcastle, joining under Eddie Howe but struggling to gain much playing time, and he’s now a free agent.
Having barely played in the last few years, Karius has admitted in an interview with Sport Bible that he could now be ready to consider calling it a day in football, with the German shot-stopper suggesting he has other projects he’s already thought about pursuing.
Loris Karius on retirement and future projects
Discussing his future after this difficult period, Karius said: “If you’ve been out for as long as I have then you obviously have to consider retirement. I haven’t made a decision yet because there’s no need to. I’m still fit. I still have all the potential and the ability.
“But if a door doesn’t open then I have to be honest and say to myself, ‘Listen. I’ve got many other things that I can pursue that excite me; that I enjoy and put effort into.’ I don’t think it would hit me that hard because I’ve already been going through this process over the last few years.”
One imagines there’s surely a club out there that could do with Karius as an option in their squad, but it seems he’s been unable to shake off the reputation he earned for himself at Liverpool after dropping two huge clangers in such a big game.
