Meme king Joel Matip took a drug test with Lionel Messi, was tricked into appearing in an OnlyFans photo and sparked a petition from Virgil van Dijk
Joel Matip is reportedly considering retirement just months after leaving Liverpool as a modern legend.
The 33-year-old, who went from fan favorite to cult hero with the Reds, remains a free agent after leaving the club.
three months later that his contract with Anfield expiresAccording to reports in Germany, the defender's career as a footballer is practically over.
Matip is yet to publicly announce a decision on his future, such is the nature of a player so humble that others have often spoken for him.
Jurgen Klopp paid a glowing tribute to one of his first Liverpool signings when it came time to say goodbye in May.
“In all the years I've been involved in football, I'm not sure I've come across many more beloved players than Joel Matip,” Klopp said.
“I'm not even sure it's possible to say anything bad about him.
“A wonderful professional, a wonderful footballer and a wonderful human being. We have been blessed to have him with us for so long and now all we can do is wish him the best as he takes a new direction.
“Joel's qualities as a player are there for everyone to see and as a club we have benefited from them from the first moment he arrived. I don't think he has had many headlines over the years, but he has only been a figure very famous within our group.
“I've said before that if there was one person who wouldn't mind being underestimated it would be Joel, but the truth is we couldn't have rated him higher.
“Not only has he set the standards for himself, he has also set them for others and this is one of the main reasons why his time here has been so successful.”
In keeping with the theme of those closest to Matip during his time at Liverpool, one of football's most important figures in recent memory needs to be highlighted if this is his discreet farewell to the game.
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Matip's Liverpool career ended six months early after he wore out his cruciate ligament in a mad 4-3 win over Fulham in December.
This meant the former Cameroonian international spent more than 700 days and missed more than 130 matches during his eight years on Merseyside.
Typically, for a player with such a serious injury history, his effect on his teammates and fans is understandably small.
So it's evident the impact Matip had on and off the pitch, making him such a defining figure of the Klopp era at Anfield.
That rise to mainstream appreciation was a slow process, however, with fellow defenders Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold earning the most individual praise.
That began to change in the 2021/22 season, when after starring against AC Milan in the Champions League, Klopp said: “Look, I can't help people who don't see the quality of Joel Matip.”
In February 2022, Matip became the latest (and so far most recent) Liverpool defender to win the Premier League Player of the Month award, something club icon Jamie Carragher has never done.
His Franz Beckenbauer-style defensive outings had long endeared him to the Anfield faithful.
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Schalke under-19 coach Norbert Elgert encouraged the centre-back to be confident on the ball when he was young.
The 67-year-old, who also mentored the likes of Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer, even played against Matip for half a season as a striker.
Matip's skill on the ball led to his debut for Schalke as a teenager against Bayern Munich in midfield, where he was named man of the match.
And his dribbling talent has led to many of his former teammates, including Van Dijk, baffled by the low rating of his skills in FIFA 22.
The Dutchman said: “68 dribbles? Are you kidding EA Sports? I'm starting a petition to get Joel Matip to have at least 85 dribbles!”
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Van Dijk, like many Liverpool fans, was in love with Matip for both his personality and his defense on the field.
Matip endeared himself to Reds fans for his part in the club's incredible 4-0 comeback against Barcelona in 2019.
The centre-back hilariously revealed later that he ended up spending more time following Lionel Messi that night than he intended after the match.
he said 11Friend: “When I entered the doping testing room, there was a guy sitting there quite depressed: Lionel Messi.
“They know each other from the field, but it's not like you sit with them every day in a small room like you're having coffee.
“Everyone is celebrating and I'm sitting in a cubicle with Messi.”
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Matip never had a public Twitter or Instagram account during his time in England, but arguably has the largest social media presence on Merseyside.
A month after one of his best games at Anfield against Barcelona, a page called 'No Context Joel Matip' was created, which recounted his best moments.
The platform once counted Van Dijk and Alisson Becker among its followers on its now-defunct X account, and in its heyday was also frequently shared on the Liverpool players' WhatsApp group.
Van Dijk, who Alex Oxlade-Chamberlan dubbed “the main instigator” behind this behavior, even pranked Matip by wearing one of the site's personalized jerseys that had his teammate's face on it during a photo shoot. of the club.
Posts by 'No Context Joel Matip', who still exists among his 32,000 followers on Instagram, included everything from the defender's dance to his frustration over refereeing decisions.
His antics also extended to playfully slapping Jordan Henderson on the back of the head in the 2-0 win against Inter Milan and a Randy Orton-style celebration in the 2-1 win over Newcastle in 2022.
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The man himself said Liverpool.com in 2019: “It's funny and I think I make a lot of people laugh, so it's not that bad.
“I can laugh at myself, that's no problem. I look at this and say, 'Oh, that's really funny.'”
Matip's lack of online presence left him open to being pranked, as was the case when he attended England's Euro 2024 opening match.
Matip was a guest of Joe Gomez when the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0 in June at the home of his former club Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.
While watching the game as a fan, the centre-back unknowingly posed for a photo with an Arsenal-supporting OnlyFans star named Leah Ray.
“I got this guy's number last night at the game, he said he plays for Liverpool. Is this true guys?” Ray wrote on his X account.
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She was soon bombarded by Liverpool fans with her comments defending her innocent nature, even after she left the club.
Few could have expected that from Matip when he joined a defense consisting of Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan.
Three years later, he bagged an assist in the Champions League final as part of a brilliant haul of trophies in his Anfield tenure.
Matip also helped the Reds win the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his time at the club.
And if this is officially the end of his playing days, then his name will forever be etched among Merseyside's legendary defenders.
Matip once told him the times: “If you are going to surprise people, you better do it in a positive way.” Cult hero? “It's not the worst thing I've heard.”
