Karius terminates loan deal with Besiktas following pay dispute

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius says he has ended his loan contract with Turkish club Besiktas following a pay dispute.

The German is suing the Super Lig outfit for repeatedly failing to pay his wages during his loan spell at Vodafone Park, with his agent, Florian Goll, saying they had not paid Karius his full contracted amount between October 2019 and March this year.

Amid the legal action, Karius said in an Instagram post on Monday that he had been in discussions with the Besiktas ownership for months to try and resolve the issue, and that he was sorry to be leaving his team-mates and the supporters in Istanbul behind.

He said: "Hi everyone, today I terminated my contract with Besiktas.

"It’s a shame it comes to an end like this but you should know that I have tried everything to solve this situation without any problems. I was very patient for months telling the board over and over again. The same things happened already last year. Unfortunately they haven’t tried to solve this situational problem and even refused my suggestion to help by taking a pay cut.

"It’s important to me that you know I really enjoyed playing for this club a lot. Besiktas can be proud of having such passionate fans behind them always giving amazing support. You always supported me in good and bad times and I will always remember you in the best way!

"Also I want to say thank you to all my team-mates, coaching staff including all people working for the club. You welcomed me with arms wide open from day one."

The post was accompanied by a video showing Karius' arrival in Turkey to crowds of supporters at the airport, along with highlights of him playing for Besiktas.

Besiktas board member Erdal Torunogullari had previously confirmed Karius' desire to leave in an Instagram post in which he described the demanded payment as "undeserved".

The German has made 25 appearances for Besiktas this season and has been in inconsistent form, however, his representative Goll said that the Turkish club had portrayed Karius as a "bogeyman" and even tried to say the absent payments are down to football being suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 26-year-old will now return to Liverpool, for whom he has not played since the 2018 Champions League final, when he made two catastrophic errors leading to goals in their 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid.

Karius is under contract with Liverpool until 2022, but is a long way from the first-team picture.

Since moving to Besiktas on a two-year loan deal in summer 2018, Liverpool have subsequently spent £67 million ($83m) to sign Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson from Roma as their new first-choice goalkeeper, with Adrian and Caoimhin Kelleher now serving as back-ups.

Before the season was suspended, Besiktas were fifth in the Super Lig table with 44 points from 26 games, nine behind leaders Trabzonspor.