Former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius says he has "considered retirement" after failing to find a club this season.
His old team will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday in a mouth-watering clash for most football fans. But you can probably count Karius out of that contingent.
The German goalkeeper joined Liverpool in 2016 but endured a tough time after several errors. It was the Champions League final of 2018, against Madrid in Kiev, where the shot-stopper was responsible for two shocking mistakes that ultimately cost Jurgen Klopp's team the biggest prize of all.
His infamous blunders gifted goals to Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, who made no mistake, as they condemned the Reds to a 3-1 defeat. The infamous night was not only a hard pill to swallow for anyone connected with Liverpool but it also marked the end of Karius' career at the club.
Now a free agent after leaving Newcastle, Karius has candidly discussed the long-lasting impact of that fateful night. In an interview with SPORTbible, the 31-year-old said: "It has been difficult to shake off.
"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.
"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. They've probably thought, 'I'll take the easy and safe way rather than go the other route'. You can understand in some ways but it's frustrating when there isn't much else you can do to change their mind."
Liverpool opted for a change between the sticks following Karius' errors. Alisson joined the club two months after the ill-fated final and, electing not to act as the Brazilian's back-up, Karius spent two seasons on loan in Turkey with Besiktas before returning to Germany for a loan spell with Union Berlin. He left Merseyside for good at the end of his contract in June 2022.
"My confidence was knocked in the days after and in pre-season, for sure," said Karius, who spent the last two seasons acting as Newcastle's third-choice keeper "Everything I did was getting looked at. It was so extreme. It all got a bit too much.
"But the experience made me stronger as a person. It's part of my story. It's part of my history. At the end of the day, I was a Liverpool player. I reached the Champions League final. It didn't play out how I wanted but less than one percent of professional footballers play in a Champions League final. We did great things. You can't deny that."
Liverpool made amends for their Champions League heartache in 2018 by winning the trophy for a sixth time in 2019 in Madrid against Tottenham. However, Karius isn't sure how his personal redemption arc will play out.
"I was hoping to get a good opportunity in the summer where I could have a shot at playing again," Karius added. "I could still get that somewhere else, but I still have expectations of which level I want to play. I have to be honest with myself and not go somewhere I may not feel comfortable.
"I chose not to go to Saudi Arabia, for example. To be that far away from my family would have been difficult. I've spoken to teams but in the end, it didn't work out. There were advanced talks with a team in Italy but that didn't happen, which was sad at the time.
"If you've been out for as long as I have then you obviously have to consider retirement. I haven’t made a decision yet because there's no need to. I'm still fit. I still have all the potential and the ability."
Following Liverpool's crushing defeat in 2018, Carlo Ancelotti broke Anfield hearts once again after a Thibaut Courtois masterclass saw Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.
The Reds are now looking to finally shake off the ghost of their Spanish adversaries after failing to beat them in their last eight attempts, however Karius is one former player who has not been swept up in the drama.
"I didn't know Liverpool played Real Madrid this week," he said. "At the start of the season, I decided to not watch any games. I wanted to clear my head."