Ex-Liverpool star Naby Keita told to leave as club chief makes brutal admission

The saga of Naby Keita at Werder Bremen has taken another dramatic twist, with reports emerging that he's been instructed to pack his bags.

Despite joining the German outfit in summer 2023 after his Liverpool contract expired, it's been far from smooth sailing for the former Reds ace. His opening season was marred by injuries resulting in a mere five showings and was further tarnished when he missed Bremen's bus for the Bayer Leverkusen match - presumably due to a strop over being benched.

The dispute escalated as Keita faced both suspension and hefty fines from the club. Now, with nearly two years left on his deal, the 29-year-old has been nudged towards the exit.

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Bremen's Ole Herner candidly expressed to Kicker: "I do believe that we have been very, very humane and very, very transparent with him at all times since he joined us. Keita is not our issue right now, and I believe that it's best for both sides to simply look ahead and into the future, to see what good solutions Naby can find for himself and what solutions we can find without him."

Despite Keita alleging an apology for the Leverkusen incident, Herner seems none the wiser, adding: "It could be that it somehow happened in the meantime, it just wouldn't have reached me."

Keita has already broken his silence on the dispute with his current club. As quoted by The Guardian , he said: "In my last year at Liverpool, I didn't play much and when I arrived here, I was motivated. We'll have to talk about the bus incident one day, but everyone who knows me knows that I'm a professional and that I'm not undisciplined.

"Despite everything, I apologised to the group even before the end of last season because we're all human and nobody's perfect. Wherever I've been, from Salzburg to Leipzig to Liverpool, I've always tried to be exemplary."

Keita added: "A lot of people say to me: 'Naby, you're injured, why don't you want to play for Bremen?' I say: 'No, I'm fine.' Since I came back from the Africa Cup of Nations [in February], all I've wanted to do is play for the fans and the club. But it's not up to me.

"The club decided to put me with the under-23s. I'm training with them and helping the youngsters while I wait for the wheels to turn. The fans have shown me a lot of love and they deserve to see me return that love on the pitch."