Joël Matip

Early career

Matip began his career with SC Weitmar 45 before joining VfL Bochum in 1997. After three years in VfL Bochum's youth teams, Matip was scouted by Schalke 04 in July 2000.

Schalke 04

Matip made his debut on 27 October 2009 in a Regionalliga West match against 1. FC Saarbrücken. He made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on 7 November 2009 against Bayern Munich, in which he scored the game-tying goal and was subsequently named man of the match. After his successful introduction to the first team, Matip remained a regular starter for Schalke in defensive midfield for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, scoring two further goals against 1. FC Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt. On 2 March 2010, Matip signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Schalke 04. In the 2010–11 season, Matip made his UEFA Champions League debut as Schalke reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in the club's history. On 5 April 2011, he scored his first Champions League goal in Schalke's 5–2 quarter final win against title holders Inter Milan at San Siro. On 21 May 2011, Matip appeared as a 72nd-minute substitute in Schalke's 5–0 2011 DFB-Pokal Final win over MSV Duisburg at the Olympiastadion. On 23 February 2013, Matip scored both goals as Schalke recorded an important 2–1 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf, securing the club's second win in 12 games. Matip scored a notable goal against FC Basel in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League: at least four Schalke…

Matip was called up on 23 December 2009 by Cameroon for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations but he later declined to take part in the tournament. On 2 March 2010, aged 18, Matip opted to play his international football for Cameroon, after meeting up with the national team ahead of a friendly against Italy on 3 March 2010. He made his first appearance in the match against Italy and went on to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup for Cameroon. He was also part of the Cameroon squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where he played twice and scored against the host team Brazil, the team's only goal of the tournament. In January 2017, Matip was selected for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but rejected the call-up. It was later revealed that Matip retired from the national team when he was still at Schalke, but had not followed FIFA procedure by informing the Cameroonian Football Association via letter. While the confusion was cleared up by FIFA, Matip could not play for Liverpool. He subsequently missed a Premier League tie against Manchester United and an FA Cup third round match against Plymouth Argyle. Matip cited his reason for his retirement was his unhappiness with the national team set up and his bad experience with the coaching staff.

Strong and clever, Matip was known for his ability to dribble up the pitch to create momentum.

Matip was born in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, to a German mother and former Cameroonian footballer Jean Matip. He is the brother of the fellow Cameroon international Marvin Matip and is a cousin of Joseph-Désiré Job. He attended the Gesamtschule Berger Feld. He married long-term partner Larissa Stollenwerk in the aftermath of Liverpool's 2020 Premier League title, and in June 2021 they welcomed their first child, a son.