Former Liverpool defender Joël Matip calls it a day

Cameroonian footballer Joël Matip has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 33.

Liverpool FC, one of Matip’s former employers, released a statement confirming his retirement and also posted a message on their social media accounts.

Matip started his career with German Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 in 2009, for whom he went on to make 258 appearances before moving to Liverpool in 2016. He was instrumental in the Reds winning the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19 and the Premier League in 2019/20 along with several other major honours.

In December 2023, playing against Fulham FC, Matip went off with an ACL injury and didn’t feature for the club till the end of the season. In May 2024, Liverpool confirmed that he would leave the club at the end of the season. Matip played 201 matches for Liverpool, scoring 11 goals in his eight years with the Reds.

Born and brought up in Germany, Matip represented Cameroon at the international level, featuring in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 and 2014 editions of the FIFA World Cup before announcing his international retirement in 2015.

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