GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — More than six years after a disastrous Champions League final sent his career spiraling downward, former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius is seeking a new start at a storied German club that’s facing its own problems.

Karius’ mistakes in the 2018 Champions League final helped cost Liverpool the title in a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid. Doctors later concluded he had suffered a concussion during the game. It was his last game for Liverpool, though he remained under contract there until 2022.

Without a club since he was released by Newcastle at the end of last season, the 31-year-old Karius is now heading back to his native Germany with Schalke, which is struggling in the second division after years of financial problems.

Karius has signed a contract until the end of the season, Schalke said, but he isn’t guaranteed to play.

“Loris is fit and can start training with the team straight away,” the club’s sporting director Youri Mulder said, but added he was only the “challenger” for now behind first-choice keeper Justin Heekeren.

Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius tries to reboot career at struggling Schalke | iNFOnews.ca — FILE – Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius looks at the ball after a fumble allowed Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale to score his side’s 3rd goal during the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

“The talks with the club’s representatives all went very well and I’m looking forward to training with the team,” Karius said in a statement. “Schalke 04 are a big club with very passionate fans, something that I was able to get a sense for already on my previous visits here as a player.”

Since the end of a loan to Turkey’s Besiktas in 2020, Karius has played just seven competitive games in the last four-and-a-half years for Union Berlin and Newcastle.

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