Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to 'wonderful' Joel Matip as Liverpool exit confirmed

Joel Matip will leave Liverpool when his contract expires this summer.

The 32-year-old has spent eight years at Anfield after joining from Schalke, helping the club win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. He suffered a serious knee injury in December and will not play against Wolves on the final day.

Matip was one of the first signings for manager Jurgen Klopp, who is also leaving Anfield this summer.

"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," Klopp said on the club website.

"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.

"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."

Midfielder Thiago Alcantara will also leave this summer upon the expiration of his contract.

"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,” added Klopp.

"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."