Naby Keita is a Guinean Football Player who plays for Liverpool as a box to box midfielder or on occasions as a holding midfielder. He is known for his defensive commitments combined with the ability to dart forward in attacking spaces. His creativity has been much welcomed to the Liverpool midfield who have lacked in the area since the departure of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018. He has been plagued by injuries since his arrival to Merseyside but the Guinean has also shown some glimpses of his outstanding game in times he has been fit.
He is one of the most senior players representing Guinea on the international stage now. Liverpool have pinned their hopes on the Guinean for replacing long standing club Captain Jordan Henderson after a couple of years. Let us look into some of the unknown facts about the man who took over Club Legend Steven Gerrard’s number 8 Jersey.
1. Formative years and Keita’s antics notorious antics at the supermarket
Naby Laye Keita was born on 10 February 1995 to Sekou Keita and Miriam Camara in the Guinean Capital City of Conakry. His family was really poor and he had a hard time growing up. Conakry is the hub of the country there are a couple of big football academies on which a young Naby had laid eyes on. In an Interview with the Bundesliga some years back, he recalled his incidents at the local supermarkets as, “She [Naby’s Mother] has told me that anything that would fall from the table, whether it was a bottle of water or an orange, I would dribble with it. Whatever was on the floor that I could kick, I would entertain myself with it. No matter where she would take me, I would do this. There were a lot of round things to play football with. Unfortunately, there were also things like lampshades, which got broken. My mum always says that shopping with me was very expensive!”.
2. Naby thought of giving up on football after failed trials
Naby Keita had joined a local football club, Horoya AC when he was just 9 years old. He stayed there until his game really grew and established himself as one of the very few Guinean talents which the European powerhouses laid eye upon. He then flew to France to have 2 trials at the Ligue 1 side FC Lorient and second division club, Le Mans FC. He was rejected at both the clubs and they didn’t offer him even a temporary contract. That’s when he thought whether football really his way out of poverty and eventually self-doubt emerged. In an interview with Bundesliga, he said,
“I did wonder if I would ever make it. It was such a tough time. You have your dream within touching distance, then it falls through and you have to start from the beginning again.”
3. Chose the Salzburg to Leipzig Route
Ultimately, Naby was picked up by FC Istres in the French Ligue 2. Istres were relegated to the Championnat National, but Keita cored 11 times in 23 appearances for the Marseille Based club. He was then snapped up by the Austrian Side Red Bull Salzburg where he flourished. His game really shown and scouts across Europe witnessed a rare Guinean talent. Red Bull Leipzig then sold him to their sister club, Red Bull Leipzig in the German Bundesliga, eventually becoming the very few players who have shifted their loyalties between the two Red Bull owned clubs.
4. Naby is the only Guinean to play in the Premier League currently
Naby Keita is the only Guinean National player who plays in the Premier League. There have been exciting names in the past from Guinea who have played in the Premier League including the likes of ex-Liverpool player Titi Camara, M Camara, Diawara, and Kamil Zayatte. This makes him the very few players representing their nations in the Premier League.
5. Naby idolized Yaya Toure growing up
Naby Keita idolized Yaya Toure growing up and tries to mimic his gameplay while on the field. He had a soft spot for FC Barcelona and Yaya’s time under Pep at Barcelona was widely memorable for Naby. His game sense closely reflects the Ivory Coast Legend. Naby dreams of replicating Yaya and becoming the Best player in Africa one day. He has Sadio Mane and to give him African company in the Liverpool dressing room.
6. Keita and Mane are very close friends
The ‘King of Conakry’, as he is widely referred to as, is very close to Sadio Mane. The Senegalese was together with Naby during their time at Red Bull Salzburg. The two were inseparable in the dressing room and also on the pitch. They celebrated goals together and linked up pretty well on the left hand side for the Austrian Club. Sadio’s move to the Premier League with Southampton meant Naby would now have to lost a close colleague in the Salzburg dressing room. It was rumored that Sadio had pushed for his transfer to Liverpool when Naby was at Red Bull Leipzig.
7. He is often compared to Deco and N’golo Kante
European Newspapers often mention him as Naby ‘Deco’ Keita because of his striking similarities to the ex-Barcelona Legend. Naby’s dad was a Deco fan and often loved watching the Portuguese take on defenders. Deco is the reason why Naby wishes to once move to Barcelona one day. His defensive output often involves lung bursting performances from the middle of the park. He runs almost 10 kms for Liverpool every game and this has had the newspapers compare him to the French Star N’golo Kante.
8. Courts calling – Charged for Fraudulent Documents
In an Incident in 2017, Naby produced a set of Fraud documents in order to obtain a driver’s license in Germany. On denial of charges, he was released but again committed the same error and was then accused of providing false documents twice now. A district court in the German City of Leipzig then fined him a whopping 415000 Euro fine for the event based on Naby’s Annual proceedings from RB Leipzig. An appeal from Keita’s lawyers forced the courts to reduce the strictness and they lowered the fines to 250000 Euros.
9. Market value and Salary
Naby Keita has a reported Market value of around 35-40 Million Euros in the current market in the post COVID period. Liverpool had paid a fee of 50 Million Euros for the Guinean who hasn’t lived up to his billing but is expected to be given time to settle in. He commands a salary of 140000 a week with Liverpool which means he has made an approximate 130 pounds by the time one finished this this article!
10. Naby has a garage of extremely fast wheels!
From dodging cars in the streets of Conakry to pass the ball to his mates to set up goals, Naby Keita now owns some of the worlds’s most sought after wheels. He owns the superfast Mercedes SUV-G Class in shining Red along with a bright yellow Mercedes AMG (Model unknown). HE also owns a Mercedes Sedan which he used to use for travelling to the Melwood training base during his early days in England. With an engine of almost 4000 CC and a pick up speed of 0-100 in 4.5 seconds, there are few competitors to the Mercedes SUV G class. Naby was previously seen driving a white Mercedes car during his time at Red Bull Leipzig, although the model has not been seen again since moving to England. The King of Conakry might surely have sights for an upgrade post a Premier League Winners Paycheck coming in at the end of the 2019-20 Football season.
11. Relation with Ralf Ragnick and his shrewd piece of transfer antics in Liverpool move
For those of you who have not heard of Ralf Ragnick, he is Red Bull Leipzig’s director of football and sporting director. A Director of football or DoF as they call it in footballing terms is responsible for having a final say in transfers and sales of players as their primary responsibility. Ralf was the one who had brought a young Naby from Salzburg and developed a keen understanding with the player. Naby considered him as a father figure and respected his opinion considerably. Their Father-son relationship was key to Naby settling in Leipzig pretty quickly. In an interview later, Naby said that, “Rangnick told me I was like a koala that you want to hug. He often hugs me,” admitted Keita. “I don’t know exactly what a koala looks like. In fact, I often fear animals because in Guinea, a lot of them are dangerous.”
12. Wore replica Liverpool jerseys as a kid hoping to wear the real one, one day!
Pictured above is a young Naby Keita, wearing a replica Liverpool jersey in his hometown of Conakry. This was a really tough time for the midfield dynamo who struggled with poverty and lack of opportunities during his U14 and U16 days. Talking to Mellissa Reddy from Goal.com, he said that he didn’t have boots and that he treasured football shirts given to him. He added that, that he was extremely glad that, that helped him to be better prepared for anything now as a professional footballer. He hoped of wearing the real Liverpool jersey one day and the rest is just history.
