Defender Matip to leave Liverpool at end of season

Liverpool defender Joel Matip will leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the season, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

The 32-year-old has spent eight years at Liverpool after joining on a free transfer from Schalke, helping the club win a series of trophies including the Champions League and Premier League.

The former Cameroon international, who has made 201 appearances for the club, was one of the first signings for manager Jurgen Klopp, who is also leaving at the end of the campaign.

"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.

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"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."

Liverpool host Wolves on Sunday in their final game of the Premier League season, guaranteed to finish third in the table.