Liverpool flop handed RECORD fine

Tom Weber

• Updated: 24 Apr 2024 19:34 BST
• 4 min read

Werder Bremen midfielder Naby Keita has been hit with one of the largest fines in Bundesliga history.

The 29-year-old joined the German outfit on a free transfer in a surprising summer move in 2023 after leaving Liverpool. At Anfield, Keita had failed to have any kind of impact due to persistent fitness issues, with the Reds ultimately not recouping any part of their €60 million outlay.

Signing Keita was a risk by Bremen, who are not blessed with particular affluence. The gamble has not paid off. Keita has failed to overcome his injury problems and this has led to him often being overlooked for selection by coach Ole Werner.

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Things came to a head two weeks ago before Bremen squared up with Bayer Leverkusen in the game that ultimately saw Xabi Alonso's side win their first-ever Bundesliga title. Ahead of the fixture, Bremen chief Clemens Fritz revealed that Keita had gone AWOL after being told that he would not be in the starting line-up.

Though Keita later pleaded his innocence on social media, both coach Werner and captain Marco Friedl corroborated Fritz's statement. The Guinean was subsequently suspended until the end of the season and it is thought that his Werder career is over, having made a grand total of five appearances.

Keita handed record fine

According to BILD, Keita has also been handed a club record fine as part of his punishment. Rather than the €100,000 initially reported, the outlet now claims that the veteran will actually have to pay €125k, making it the fourth-highest financial penalty ever given to a player in the Bundesliga.

Top spot belongs to ex-Schalke star Rafinha, who had to pay €700k for travelling with Brazil to the 2008 Olympics without permission from his club. Brilliant Brazilian playmaker Diego was hit with a €400k fine in 2011 for essentially going on strike while at Wolfsburg and Keita's ex-Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane had to pay €350k for punching fellow Bayern star Leroy Sane in 2023.

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The German outlet further claims that Keita is viewed at Bremen as being incapable of playing more than 15 minutes of Bundesliga football. To help him deal with the mental strain of his frequent fitness issues, the club provided him with a psychologist but the report claims that it yielded no results. Keita is said to be a loner and used to frequently arrive late to training.

Finally, it is asserted that Werder club chiefs and Keita's agent Bjorn Bezemer had a meeting in which the former made it clear to the latter that they will terminate the player's contract this summer.