Loris Karius‘ career renaissance has continued after being handed the No. 1 shirt fresh from signing a new contract at Schalke.
Following on from the mishap that was the 2018 Champions League final, Karius struggled to recover and find a permanent club that would hand him regular minutes.
He had loan spells at Besiktas and Union Berlin before permanently leaving Liverpool in 2022 and going on to sign for Newcastle, who would end a 728-day wait between appearances.
Karius was left without a club last summer but signed for Schalke as a free agent in January, and on debut was named Man of the Match after five saves and a clean sheet.
Our new number ?.Ready for more ? pic.twitter.com/F2KdQN7xXb
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) June 11, 2025
The 31-year-old, however, would feature only four times for the Bundesliga 2 side before a calf injury ended his campaign prematurely – but Schalke had seen enough.
On Wednesday the German club confirmed they had extended Karius’ contract until 2027, with the goalkeeper taking the No. 1 shirt under new manager Miron Muslic.
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“I’m very pleased that we were able to agree on a shared future through fruitful discussions,” Karius told Schalke’s club website after signing his new contract.
“With my performances, I want to contribute to us playing successful football again as a team and regaining the trust of the fans.
“This is our mission as players, and we must work on it from the first day of summer pre-season.”
For the first time since he left Liverpool, Karius now has contract security beyond a single season and is to assume the role of first-choice ‘keeper for Schalke’s bid to return to the Bundesliga.
Schalke finished a disappointing 14th in the second tier of German football in the season just gone, only three points above the relegation zone in their second campaign outside the topflight.
After considerable upheaval in recent years, it is uplifting to see the 31-year-old find a place he can call home and carve out an important role in the No. 1 shirt.
