Loris Karius of FC Schalke 04 has spoken with surprising honesty to Funke Mediengruppe about severe mental health problems in his past.
Schalke's goalkeeper looked back on a dark spell in his career in the interview, shaped above all by his loan stint at Besiktas in Istanbul between 2018 and 2020. There, the keeper came close to hanging up his gloves for good.
"At times I had to force myself to go to work. And I just tried to get through the day in some kind of normal way," the Schalke goalkeeper said, offering an insight into his state of mind at the time.
That psychological strain stemmed from what happened in 2018. Until that summer, the career of the Biberach-born player had gone in only one direction: upwards. Via Mainz 05, Karius made the move to the Premier League in the summer of 2016 with Liverpool. At the Reds, he became the number one under Jürgen Klopp and reached the Champions League final in 2018.
Loris Karius thought about ending his career
But the Champions League final against Real Madrid became a sporting trauma. Karius was at fault for two goals in the 3-1 defeat, with a concussion suffered during the match only diagnosed afterwards playing a part.
"Up to that point, my career had only been going steeply upwards, then I suddenly crashed spectacularly - right to the bottom," recalled the now 33-year-old. That phase had been "extremely hard" because he "was not yet as settled as a person".
After that, the goalkeeper lost his connection to the game. "I simply felt empty and even thought about ending my career. But I was only 25 years old and could not just stay at home," Karius admitted. Daily life as a professional became a burden: "In that phase I felt that nobody would understand me. I no longer wanted to train, I no longer wanted to play."
Since when has Loris Karius been playing for Schalke 04?
Even attempts from those around him to lift his spirits by pointing to his outward success had no effect. Karius said people often told him he played for a renowned club, lived in a nice flat and earned a lot of money. "But I did not care about any of that at all. I simply felt dreadful and felt like there was nobody who could help me out of that hole. They were difficult years," he said.
Nor did professional support initially bring the turnaround he hoped for. He did confide in a mental coach, but the desired effect did not materialise: "I still could not flick the switch. Over the years I somehow managed to fight my way out of this low point on my own."
From there, the hard sporting road took the keeper on loan to Union Berlin and then back to England with Newcastle United. After a spell without a club, Schalke 04 moved for him in January 2025 and signed the experienced player.