Liverpool confirm that Joel Matip will leave the club at the end of the season, as Jurgen Klopp pays tribute to the defender after eight trophy-laden years at Anfield

Liverpool have confirmed that Joel Matip will leave the club at the end of the season, after spending eight years with the Merseyside giants. 

The 32-year-old, who joined the Reds from German side Schalke in 2016, is set to embark on a new chapter in his career after his successful time at Liverpool. 

The club confirmed the news on Friday morning and in a statement on their website, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to the central defender.

Klopp said: '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.

'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.

'Joel's qualities as a player are there for all to see and as a club we have benefited from them since the first moment that he joined. I don't think he has had too many headlines over the years but he has only ever been a very famous figure within our group.

'I have said before that if there was one person who wouldn't care if he was underrated it would be Joel, but the truth is we could not have rated him more highly. Not only has he set the standards for himself, he has set them for others and this is one of the main reasons why his time here has been so successful.'

Matip has been a consistent feature in Klopp's side over the last eight years and will leave the club with an impressive trophy haul. 

He's won seven trophies with the Reds including a Premier League title, a Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.   

More to follow...