Naby Keita reaches sorry end with new club after suspension just a year on from Liverpool exit

A former Liverpool star who only left the club last summer has reached a sorry end with his new side following a club suspension at the end of last season.

Ex-Reds midfielder Naby Keita only signed for Werder Bremen 12 months ago but is already set to leave the Bundesliga outfit after a nightmare campaign in Germany, having made just five appearances in all competitions throughout 2023-24.

The Guinean was released at the end of his Liverpool contract in May 2023 following an injury-ravaged five years on Merseyside, yet he left with seven winners' medals around his neck including the Champions League in 2018-19 and Premier League in 2019-20.

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Since moving back to Germany last summer however, things haven't gone to plan for Keita. Injury ruled him out of nine of Bremen's first 12 league games of the season, while he was often left on the bench whenever he was selected after failing to impress his new coaches.

And after being named as a substitute for five successive games throughout March, Keita effectively ended his Bremen career when deciding to take matters into his own hands after being told he would not be part of the starting line-up for a sixth game in a row.

Instead of boarding the team bus with the rest of the squad for Bremen's Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen on April 14, Keita instead headed home. The club subsequently suspended him and fined him "a significant amount", and he would not feature for the remainder of the season.

But Bremen have now confirmed that Keita will not play for the club again, following an agreement reached between both parties. As per Sky Sports Deutschland, a statement from Bremen's Head of Football, Clemens Fritz, read: "Naby Keïta will not return to the team training of the Bundesliga squad, but will continue to follow an individual training program and seek a new challenge.

"It was a very open conversation in which we jointly came to the conclusion that this is the most sensible course of action in the current situation (…) Since his sporting situation has not changed, he would like to seek a new challenge. Together with his advisor, we want to realize this as soon as possible."

Keita hadn't even appeared in pre-season for Bremen, having represented Guinea at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The former Reds midfielder captained his nation at this summer's games after being selected as one of three overaged players and was even named as the chosen flag bearer for the opening ceremony.

However, Keita couldn't prevent Guinea from crashing out in the group stage at his first Olympic games, with Syli National losing all three of its games against New Zealand, hosts France and the United States to finish bottom of Group A.