Loris Karius opens up on trauma of 2018 Champions League final and struggles since

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius has spoken candidly about the traumatic events of the 2018 Champions League final and the struggles he has faced since.

Karius, who made two high-profile errors in the final against Real Madrid, has revealed that he has found it difficult to shake off the criticism and abuse he received in the aftermath of the game.

“It has been difficult to recover from this situation,” Karius told SPORTbible. “Even at other clubs when I was trying to gain a manager’s trust or get game time when I felt like, in my opinion, I deserved it… there have definitely been moments where I’ve thought that was my disadvantage.”

Karius, who has made just six appearances over the last three-and-a-half years, believes that his reputation has preceded him and has made it difficult for him to gain the trust of managers.

“It might not even be the manager’s fault but if you know you have a player that is going to draw so much attention then it’s going to add pressure,” he said. “They’ve probably thought, ‘I’ll take the easy and safe way rather than go the other route.'”

Karius, who is now a free agent after his time at Newcastle United came to an end in June, has been using the past few months to step away from football and focus on other passions, such as music and spending time with his family.

However, the 31-year-old is still unsure about what the future holds for him. “How did it come to this? And what’s next?” he pondered.