Liverpool midfielder Thiago, Matip to leave club at end of season

Liverpool Football Club has confirmed that midfielder Thiago Alcantara and defender Joel Matip will depart from the club at the end of the current season.

Thiago, a former Spanish international aged 33, joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich in 2020 and has amassed 98 appearances during his tenure at Anfield.

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Matip, who arrived from Schalke in 2016, has played 201 matches for Liverpool, scoring 11 goals.

Both players have faced limited playing time this season due to injuries. Matip, a center-back, has been sidelined since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against Fulham in December.

Thiago, who missed the first six months of the season with a hip injury, returned to action in February against Arsenal but suffered a muscle problem during his brief appearance, sidelining him once again.

“It has been eight wonderful years here in Liverpool,” Matip said.

“I was allowed to be part of an exciting history with a great coach and an astonishing team in an extraordinary club. We have achieved great titles and have the best fans in the world.”

Th ex-Cameroon international was a part of the Liverpool side that won the Champions League in 2019, setting up Divock Origi for the second goal as they beat Tottenham in the final.

Matip then lifted the Premier League the following year – the club’s first top-flight title in 30 years.

Liverpool manager Jurgen 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.”

German Klopp will also leave after their final game of the season, against Wolves at Anfield on Sunday.

Both Matip and Thiago won the FA Cup and EFL Cup with the Reds in 2022.

During that season Liverpool missed out on a quadruple, beaten to the league title by Manchester City by one point and losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Thiago described his time at Liverpool as a “life-changing experience”.

“Appreciation and gratitude – they are two words that come to mind on the day I have to say goodbye to all of you, Reds,” he posted on social media.

Klopp said: “Before he even came to Liverpool I believed that if you really love football it would make a lot of sense if you watched Thiago Alcantara play.

“I know injuries have been a frustration for him and also for us but the level that he was able to play at when he was available was incredible. This is what I will remember.”