SUMMARY
- Werder Bremen midfielder Naby Keita had refused to play against Bayer Leverkusen recently.
- After not being included in the starting XI, Keita went home.
Former Liverpool star Naby Keita has found himself in trouble once again. The Guinean had left Liverpool in the summer of 2023 for Werder Bremen after a troubling spell at the English club that was marred with injuries.
However, Naby Keita hasn’t been able to resurrect his career the way he wanted at the German club. In fact, the 29-year-old has really hurt the club with his recent actions, which might even threaten his career at Bremen.
🚨 Naby Keita will join Werder Bremen as free agent, here we go! Agreement in place on three year deal valid until June 2026. #Bundesliga
Main part of medical tests already done, as BILD revealed first. It will be official soon. pic.twitter.com/KQdmwt66Yf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 9, 2023
The Guinean had refused to partake in a game with Bayer Leverkusen on April 14, 2024, going against the whims of his club. The soccer world was shocked by Naby Keita’s actions as many suspected that a huge punishment was imminent for the Guinean star.
And this is exactly what the club has done. Werder Bremen has suspended the 29-year-old till the end of the 23/24 season. He has also been reportedly handed out a significant fine and is barred from using the Werder Bremen training facilities for the time being. The German club has also released a statement regarding this situation.
Werder Bremen releases a statement that confirms Naby Keita’s suspension
Clemens Fritz, Head of Professional Football at Werder Bremen, wrote in a statement on behalf of the German club about its reaction to the Guinean player’s unprofessional act. According to Clemens, the club was extremely hurt by Naby’s acts and thus his punishment is duly justified. Moreover, Werder Bremen wants to reiterate that no individual is bigger than the club.
Naby #Keïta bis Saisonende suspendiert.
Außerdem haben die Grün-Weißen dem Mittelfeldspieler eine erhebliche Geldstrafe auferlegt. Der 28-Jährige wird fortan weder mit der Mannschaft trainieren, noch sich in der Kabine der Profis aufhalten.
👉 https://t.co/IfxFdONsGL#Werder pic.twitter.com/mNZlfulrDY
— SV Werder Bremen (@werderbremen) April 16, 2024
The statement read, “Naby’s behaviour is intolerable for us as a club. With this action, he let his team down in a tense sporting and personnel situation and put himself above the team. We cannot allow that to happen.”
With just 5 games left in the season, the club doesn’t want to be distracted by off-the-pitch issues with its players. Rather, Werder Bremen wants to fully focus on the Bundesliga and finish as high as they can in the league. Therefore, the club had no other option than to suspend Naby Keita, who was being a bad influence in the dressing room.
Naby Keita refused to travel with his team to the game against Bayer Leverkusen
Werder Bremen traveled to the BayArena in Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen on April 14, 2024. The match held a lot of significance since a win for the home team could have sealed the Bundesliga title for the team. Moreover, Bayer Leverkusen was in tremendous form, remaining unbeaten throughout the season.
The away team hence didn’t want any discrepancies during the build-up to the game. However, Naby Keita had different plans as he sabotaged Werder Bremen’s game preparations.
Reportedly, the former Liverpool player refused to get on the team bus and left for home after he found out that he wasn’t included in the starting lineup. The club was left shell-shocked by the player’s behavior and wanted to discuss the matter with Naby Keita and his agents.
🚨 Werder director Fritz: “Naby Keita found out that he would not be playing vs Leverkusen from the start, he decided not to get on the bus and to go home”.
“We’ll talk to Keita and his agent about the consequences and how to proceed”. pic.twitter.com/YPj6KDmKJv
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 14, 2024
Clemens Fritz documented the whole incident perfectly by saying (via The Mirror), “After Naby found out yesterday that he would not be playing from the start, he decided not to get on the bus but to go home. We will talk to him and his agent tomorrow about the consequences and how to proceed.”
Naby’s team Werder Bremen would then go on to lose against Bayer Leverkusen 5-0, as the home team lifted its first-ever Bundesliga title. The pain of the heavy defeat must have remained fresh in Bremen’s minds, who decided to suspend Naby Keita. It would be interesting to see how the situation of Naby Keita develops in the coming days.