RB Leipzig's Naby Keita Slapped with £280,000 Fine Just Months Before Long-Awaited Liverpool Switch

Liverpool-bound RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita has made headlines this week but for all of the wrong reasons, with the Guinea international being fined £280,000 for submitting false driving licenses. 

With Keita set to make his long-awaited switch to Liverpool in just a matter of months, the Mail report that the midfielder has been found guilty of producing counterfeit documents.

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The accusations were made in December 2016 - and again shortly after just six weeks later - where it was alleged that the Leipzig man had been producing forged documents in his native, Guinea, with the authorities confirming that the documents were complete counterfeits.

It was confirmed by the president of the Leipzig court that they had set 50 fines for the Guinea international, amounting to €5,000 each.

The severity of the fines were said to be adjudged in comparison to Keita’s annual income, which currently stands at approximately £1.7m.

The 23-year-old was originally ordered to pay €415,000 for the offences, but his lawyer successfully appealed the fee, ultimately halving the fine as a result.

The midfielder will join Liverpool at the end of the season after a deal was agreed by the Merseysiders and Leipzig last summer, with Keita staying with the Bundesliga outfit for the entirety of 2017/18 campaign as part of the agreement.

With the departure of talisman Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, there were heavy rumours that Liverpool were attempting to fast-track Keita’s move to January.

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The claims were wholly dismissed by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp and the proposal failed to materialise.

Klopp said at the time: "There is an agreement with the club that he will come in June or July to Liverpool. There is nothing else to say about that. We really don't think about it because of all the things Leipzig have said.

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"They said they do not have to sell any player. Why should they do something like that (letting him leave in January)? So no, we don't think about it."