Liverpool have won their struggle to sign giant Cameroon central defender Joel Matip from Schalke 04 on a free transfer at the end of the season, the Bundesliga outfit confirmed on Monday.
The 24-year-old has made 239 appearances for Schalke since his debut at 18 in November 2009, but sporting director Horst Heldt admitted the club had lost their battle to persuade Matip to stay in Gelsenkirchen.
“We have held extensive discussions with both the player and his agent since May. It became clear very quickly that certain decisive factors meant we would not be able to influence his decision,” Horst told the club’s Web site.
Photo: AP
Liverpool also announced the arrival of the German-born star, who can operate as a midfielder and at centerback, and who is thought to have signed a four-year deal.
“Liverpool Football Club can confirm they have reached an agreement to sign Cameroon defender Joel Matip,” a statement on the club’s Web site said.
The player himself said it was a logical career move.
“I never considered a move to another Bundesliga club. Even though the decision wasn’t easy, I am certain that this is the right moment for me to take the next step in my career,” Matip said.
He also promised to continue to give his all for the fifth-placed Bundesliga club, who are just two points off third place.
“I have always been very proud to play for this fantastic club and I will give my all in the coming months to ensure that we get the most we can out of this season. I owe that to both the fans and my team,” he said.
Matip, who is 1.95m tall, has been capped 27 times by Cameroon and played at both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Liverpool’s interest in Matip has been known since January and the move will see him follow Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic — Juergen Klopp’s first signing as Reds manager — in joining the Merseyside outfit.
Grujic, recruited in January, was immediately returned to former club Red Star Belgrade on loan for the remainder of the season.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but