Liverpool confirms the departures of Origi, Karius and several other players
Liverpool has officially confirmed the departures of several senior and Academy players this summer.
Eight years after agreeing a move to Anfield from Lille, Divock Origi will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of June. His contributions to Jürgen Klopp’s team’s Champions League triumph in 2019 have a guaranteed place in club legend. Origi scored twice in the 4-0 semi-final comeback win over Barcelona and then sealed success in the final versus Tottenham Hotspur with an unerring late finish to make it 2-0 having come off the bench amid the heat of Madrid. In total, Origi scored 41 goals in his 175 appearances for the club.
Loris Karius, Sheyi Ojo and Ben Woodburn will also depart Anfield upon their contract expiries at the end of this month. Karius joined Liverpool from FSV Mainz 05 in the summer of 2016 and went on to play 49 games under Klopp during his first two seasons on Merseyside. He started every Champions League match in 2017-18 as Klopp’s men surged to the final in Kyiv, though it would end in personal and collective disappointment with a 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid.
Handed his debut by Klopp, Ojo clocked up 13 appearances at senior level for Liverpool following a move from MK Dons in 2011 and scored once, in an FA Cup tie against Exeter City.Handed his debut by Klopp, Ojo clocked up 13 appearances at senior level for Liverpool following a move from MK Dons in 2011 and scored once, in an FA Cup tie against Exeter City.
Having emerged from the Academy, Woodburn became the youngest goalscorer in Reds history when he netted in front of the Kop during a League Cup tie with Leeds United in November 2016 – a title he still holds. The Wales international, who had made his first-team debut just three days before that landmark night, totalled 11 appearances for the club in addition to several loan spells in recent years.
At the Academy, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Luis Longstaff – both of whom represented the club at senior level in domestic cup competitions – and Sean Wilson are also set to embark on new chapters in their careers this summer.
