6 months ago
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Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The Reds’ third-choice goalkeeper would like to return to Spain to play a more prominent role before he retires.
While a third-choice goalkeeper might not often get a lot of notice from the fans, it’s been clear in recent seasons that third-choice Liverpool shot stopper Adrian is an important part of the team set off and a valued teammate and training partner at the club even if his days of being in contention for minutes for a top Premier League side are behind him.
With the 37-year-old’s contract set to expire this summer and manager Jürgen Klopp—who brought him in summer of 2019 on a free transfer—departing, though, it perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise he’s thinking of moving on. In particular, the Sevilla-born stopper says he would like to return to La Liga for a chance to play again before he hangs up his boots.
“I would like to return to La Liga after 11 seasons in the Premier League,” he said. “It would be closing a cycle. I feel I am still ready to compete; I feel good despite being 37. You know that goalkeepers, if you take good care of yourself and have not had serious injuries, well I think I have a while left and it is true I would like to return to the Spanish league.”
Adrian came through the youth system of Real Betis, playing regularly with the B Team and undertaking brief loan spells at Alcala and Utrera before earning the starting job for Betis in 2012-13. He then joined West Ham and was a well-regarded and regular starter for three seasons before falling down the pecking order and joining Liverpool as a backup.
His first season at Liverpool saw him win the UEFA Super Cup and play 11 games in the Premier League early in the season as he filled in for an injured Alisson Becker. Liverpool didn’t lose a single one of those league games with Adrian filling in, helping to set the club up to earn a total of 99 points and win their first league title in three decades.
“It has to be a nice project, something interesting,” the veteran goalkeeper added of what he will look for in his next club. “I haven’t sat down with Liverpool yet, either, so I don’t rule out also that there could be a pending conversation. But it is true that we will be looking out of the corner of our eye to see what the options are in La Liga this summer.”
