Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita had a season to forget with Werder Bremen, voted the most disappointing player of the Bundesliga campaign by his fellow professionals.
The 29-year-old left Anfield on a free transfer last summer and was snapped up by the German club, with plenty of optimism that he would shine in the Bundesliga having impressed at RB Leipzig before moving to Liverpool.
So good had Keita been at Leipzig that the Reds triggered a £48m release clause in his contract back in 2017 to bring him to the Premier League.
The Guinea international’s five-year stay in England was largely underwhelming as he struggled with injuries and failed to hold down a regular spot in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI.
Things have gone from bad to worse for him after his move to Bremen, struggling with illness and injury before being suspended by the club for refusing to travel to a match.
Keita has made just five Bundesliga appearances over the last season, with just one coming in the starting XI, not making it onto the field in any capacity since March.
German publication Kicker conduct an annual survey of professional players, with 227 Bundesliga players voting and Keita coming out on top in the ‘most disappointing player’ category, winning 25.6 per cent of the votes.
Keita refused to be part of the matchday squad for a trip to Bayer Leverkusen in April and has been suspended by the club ever since.
A statement from Werder Bremen at the time read: ‘Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keita until the end of the season.
‘The club have also handed the midfielder a substantial fine. The 28-year-old will no longer train with the team or be part of the first-team dressing room.’
Clemens Fritz, Werder Bremen’s head of football, added: ‘As a club, we won’t tolerate Naby’s behaviour.
‘He let his team down in a time of difficulty surrounding our recent run of form and squad availability and put his own interests above those of the team. We can’t allow that.
‘At this stage of the season, we need full focus on the remaining games and a team who stick together. That’s why we’ve been left with no alternative.’
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