'I have to be honest' - Liverpool flop Loris Karius makes sad admission about his future as he fails to find a new club

Six years after the aftermath of the ill-fated 2018 Champions League final, Karius has had a wild and downward ride, playing in just 74 club games since May 2018. Karius' two-season stint with Newcastle ended over the summer, leaving him without a club. As he continues to look for a new destination for his services, Karius has now revealed that he is 'considering retirement' from the game if he fails to find a club soon.

Speaking to SPORTbible, Karius said: “If you've been out for as long as I have then you obviously have to consider retirement. I haven’t made a decision yet because there's no need to. I'm still fit. I still have all the potential and the ability.

“But if a door doesn't open then I have to be honest and say to myself, ‘Listen, I've got many other things that I can pursue that excite me, that I enjoy and put effort into.’ I don't think it would hit me that hard because I've already been going through this process over the last few years.”

The 2018 Champions League final saw Karius make two grave errors to hand Real Madrid a walk in the park against Liverpool. After the game, it was revealed that the goalkeeper had suffered a concussion after an off-the-ball incident with Sergio Ramos. However, the German was never absolved of his errors and decided not to stay at Liverpool to get away from the critics, which he mentions was possibly a mistake.

He said: "I was trying not to pay any interest but you couldn't get away from it all. You still notice. People are telling you. I was getting confronted all the time. And that's why I wanted a fresh start rather than staying at Liverpool, where I could have been behind Alisson, and still getting game time.

“Maybe in the end that would have been the better step but it's difficult to say at that stage. The experience made me stronger as a person. It's part of my story. It's part of my history. At the end of the day, I was a Liverpool player.

“I reached the Champions League final. It didn't play out how I wanted but less than one percent of professional footballers play in a Champions League final. We did great things. You can't deny that.”

The former Liverpool goalkeeper remains optimistic but realistic about the future as he continues to look for a new club.