‘Forever grateful’ – Ex-Liverpool teammate of Salah and Robertson makes his own emotional goodbye | OneFootball

On the same day that Mo Salah and Andy Robertson bade a poignant farewell at Anfield, one of their former Liverpool teammates had an equally emotional swansong elsewhere.

While we await to see where the Egyptian winger and Scottish left-back will continue their playing careers, that of Simon Mignolet came to a utopian ending on Sunday as the former Reds goalkeeper marked his retirement with one last appearance for Club Brugge.

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The 38-year-old captained the newly-crowned Belgian champions as they rounded off their top-flight campaign with a 5-0 home drubbing of Gent, being substituted to rapturous acclaim in the 78th minute.

Mignolet posts emotional social media statement

After the match, the former Liverpool stopper took to X with a heartfelt statement reflecting on a career divided among four clubs, surpassing a century of appearances with each one.

The Belgian posted: ‘No words to describe what I’m feeling… Forever grateful. For everyone who supported me, for everyone who believed in me. It’s an honour to finish my career at this beautiful club, together with the fans, everyone at the club and all my loved ones. Simon, out.’

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Mignolet was an important figure in Klopp’s early years at Liverpool

After joining from Sunderland in 2013, Mignolet went on to make 204 appearances during a six-year stay at Liverpool, saving a late penalty in a 1-0 home win over Stoke on his debut and bowing out as part of the Champions League-winning squad of 2019.

He bridged the gap between the Reds’ two most distinguished goalkeepers of the 21st century, arriving in the same summer that Pepe Reina departed and having one season as Alisson Becker’s understudy before he left for Club Brugge, where he spent the final seven years of his playing career.

Whilst never consistently hitting the same world-class levels as that duo at Anfield, the Belgian was an important figure in Jurgen Klopp’s first couple of years in charge of the club.

Similar to Caoimhin Kelleher – who was lauded upon his return to Liverpool in the colours of Brentford on Sunday – Mignolet earned a reputation as a formidable penalty saver, stopping eight in total for the Reds (including one from future teammate Sadio Mane in 2016).

By captaining newly-crowned champions Club Brugge on home soil in his 722nd and final appearance as a player, the 38-year-old couldn’t have asked for a better way in which to round off a distinguished career which saw him pocket a Champions League winner’s medal.