Due to a second round of unpaid wages, the goalkeeper has terminated his contract with Turkish side Besiktas.
After weeks of speculation about his future, Loris Karius has terminated his contract with Besiktas today following a dispute over unpaid wages between the 26-year-old German goalkeeper and the club he joined two summers ago on loan.
Karius’ time in Turkey was marked by conflict with Besiktas over unpaid wages, first during 2018-19—when he needed to take his dispute to FIFA to see it resolved—and then a second time last autumn over a further £1.4M in unpaid wages.
“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,” Karius said of his decision. “I was very patient for months [after the] same things happened already last year.
“Unfortunately they haven’t tried to solve this 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 having such passionate fans.”
Karius will now return to Liverpool, at least digitally, as he is expected to rejoin Liverpool’s squad and coaching staff in their online training sessions in the coming weeks—and to rejoin live training sessions whenever that is again possible.
Along with speculation about Karius’ contract situation with Besiktas in recent weeks, there have been rumours that longer term his future is likely to lie in Germany, with Werder Bremen in particular often named as a potential destination.
