We can’t exactly put a finger on what it is that makes Joel Matip so likeable.
He’s a wonderful footballer – that’s a given – but it’s his calmness and slight awkwardness off the field that has turned him into an accidental cult-hero!
In the video below, the central defender tells an interviewer that Virgil van Dijk and not himself is the fastest defender in the squad – which seems fairly bland – but when Matip says it, it isn’t!
Hopefully Joel will be back to play alongside Fabinho against Crystal Palace – following his midweek resting for his back issue.
He's so pure 😭 https://t.co/TtUixssEtF
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) December 18, 2020