Before Alisson and Karius, Liverpool’s number one goalkeeper was Simon Mignolet.
We signed the Belgian back in 2013 for £9m as a replacement Pepe Reina. However, his inability to keep a clean sheet as well as his continuous slip-ups meant that Liverpool were once again looking for another keeper. So we sold him to Club Brugge for £6m.
There was no animosity between the 31 year-old and fans when he departed the club. However, he has not said a lot of good things about Liverpool since then. In a recent interview, the former Liverpool player suggested he was frustrated with his role at Liverpool, saying he was “at the end of his patience”.
He added: “After pre-season, I returned with the idea: now I am going to give everything here and I get nothing in return.” (Mail Online).
It’s not surprising that his comments haven’t settled well with Liverpool fans:
https://twitter.com/fishpainting/status/1174728906533933057
If you're Karius 2.0, at what chances are you expecting for?
— 🍀OrdinaryFellow🍀 (@OrdinaryFellow5) September 19, 2019
That’s understandable but it probably would’ve helped if you didn’t concede goals & get eliminated at the first hurdle when you had chances in the cup games. Never-mind, how does that Champions League medal feel?
— Leroy Hanslo (@Im_LH) September 19, 2019
We understand that sitting on the bench is not ideal for any player. That some would rather be on the pitch earning their wage. However, it is a bit unfair for him to say he got ‘nothing in return’.
Mignolet spent four out of five seasons as Liverpool’s number one goalkeeper. During those years, he had the chance to help the Reds win the Premier League, the Champions League and the Europa League; yet his constant errors in goal did not help the team in any way. In his five year stay, he only managed to keep 80 clean sheets and concede over 300 goals.
If Liverpool were to be title contenders, we had to fix the team’s weaknesses. Unfortunate for him, he was one of them. Yes, that must be hard for him to accept but it’s the truth, especially now that we have Alisson.
(Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
He shouldn’t complain either as he did get a Champions League medal and a Super Cup. If Liverpool would have let him go in January, Mignolet would have left with nothing.
In the end, Liverpool did give him something in return- he just doesn’t seem to realise.