New Liverpool signing Alex Manninger has admitted that playing for the Reds could be the perfect way to finish his career.
39-year-old Manninger, who has been acquired on a free transfer after his contract at Bundesliga club Augsburg expired at the end of last season, has penned a short-term one-year deal at Anfield.
Someone who played for Serie A giants Juventus for four seasons from 2008 to 2012, Manninger has also plied his trade under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, where he made 30 Premier League appearances before departing for Espanyol in 2002.
The goalkeeper, who is Austrian by nationality, has said that playing for Liverpool could be the perfect way to finish his football career.
He told the official Liverpool website: “This [playing as a back-up] is for every player, because you only start with 11 and the other 10, 12, 14 don’t know when they’ll play or if they’ll play.
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“It’s part of the job. It’s a sport unit and you have to keep ready for whenever the boss calls you. This is our job and my job, even if I’m late in years.
“That probably makes the difference because the goalie who is playing knows I’m not pushing for his shirt, so he will be relaxed about this.
“But I’m definitely a guy who wants quality around and that is why I’ve chosen this club now, because it has got it.
"Not only on the pitch, it’s just the perfect way to work or finish a career.”
Manninger’s capture comes after the acquisitions of Sadio Mane from Southampton, Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg, Joel Matip as a free agent and Loris Karius from Mainz.
