Naby Keïta has admitted he is finally enjoying his football again after several difficult years blighted by injuries.
The former Liverpool midfielder, now 30, endured a turbulent spell at Anfield before leaving in the summer of 2023. Persistent fitness problems prevented him from ever truly finding rhythm on Merseyside, restricting him to just eight Premier League appearances in his final season under Jürgen Klopp.
Keïta joined Liverpool in 2018 for £52.75 million from RB Leipzig, arriving with huge expectations. Handed Steven Gerrard’s iconic No.8 shirt, he was billed as the dynamic, goalscoring midfielder who could elevate Klopp’s side. But despite flashes of brilliance, he struggled to replicate his Bundesliga form and was ultimately held back by recurring injuries.
“I remember when I first joined Liverpool,” Keïta recalled. “He (Klopp) told me: ‘Naby, you’re here finally and you’ve earned it. I want you to enjoy it and won’t put any pressure on you — the most important thing is for you to enjoy your time.’
For me, that always made me want to go out there and play my best for him.”
Keïta went on to make 129 appearances in all competitions across five seasons at Anfield, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists. He was part of the squad that delivered the club’s greatest honours under Klopp including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Club World Cup and European Super Cup.
However, his final months were underwhelming. Substituted at half-time in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace in February 2023, he never featured for the club again, later ruled out for the rest of the campaign through injury.
Keïta returned to Germany after leaving Liverpool, signing for Werder Bremen on a free transfer in 2023. But his struggles continued. He made just five appearances before being frozen out following a disciplinary incident in April 2024, when he refused to board the team coach upon learning he wasn’t in the starting XI against Bayer Leverkusen.
By January, Bremen had shipped him out on loan to Ferencváros, where his career has quietly been revived. Under the guidance of former Liverpool striker Robbie Keane, Keïta has made 21 appearances to date, helping the Hungarian champions retain their Nemzeti Bajnokság I title
While Ferencváros narrowly missed out on the Champions League group stage after defeat to Qarabag, they secured Europa League football and Keïta has already featured 10 times this season, registering two assists.
After years of frustration, he’s finally finding some rhythm again.
Despite the disappointment of his Liverpool spell, Keïta insists he holds no grudges and still follows the club closely.
“Now I’m a Liverpool fan and I follow the team,” he told Telecomasia. “So last season was obviously very good, and it was very nice to see them win the league.”
“The new manager has come in and instantly been able to get the best out of the team he’s been able to get his ideas across easily and early, which is a very good thing.”
“I still speak to a lot of my team-mates and they say that the new manager is very good, which is easy to believe given how they’re performing.”
Keïta’s time at Liverpool will always carry a sense of what might have been. At Leipzig, he scored 17 goals and produced 15 assists in just 71 appearances, making him one of Europe’s most exciting midfielders. But at Anfield, injuries, inconsistency and fierce competition for places meant he never became the transformative figure many hoped.
His second season perhaps summed up his Anfield career: fitness issues left him on the fringes, but when he returned late in the campaign, he played nine consecutive league matches to help Liverpool clinch their first Premier League title.
Ultimately, Keïta’s Liverpool story is one of undeniable talent, fleeting moments, and frustrating setbacks. Yet in Hungary, away from the Premier League glare, he seems finally to be piecing his career back together.
