He was pretty good for us, although for me he wasn’t a top CB. We had/have 1 top and the rest were fighting among each other to be his partner.
On paper, when fit and in normal form, Matip was most often the best pick of the rest. Since Paris, Konate took him over in the pecking order.
In my opinion, the absolute best Matip played for us was when he came back into the starting XI midway through the 18/19 season and then that spring on the way to Madrid.
The crowning moment of that peak period of his career for us can be that tackle on Messi in the first half of the return leg.
Good player, funny character, probably not even knowing that he’s funny most of the time, one of the better deals on a free, a bit out of nowhere.
Joel’s leaving will be overlooked tomorrow I imagine. That would be a great shame. He’s been a brilliant servant to the club over the last 8 years and has been massively under-rated by a large section of our fans.
Hope he turns up somewhere decent and has another few good years before hanging up his boots.