Liverpool legend Martin Skrtel, 38, still playing in Slovakian EIGHTH-TIER as he scores beauty of a free-kick
LIVERPOOL cult hero Martin Skrtel showed he still has it after walloping home a free-kick for his hometown club.
Skrtel, 38, retired in May citing health reasons but has in fact been playing for Hajskala Raztocno in Slovakia’s eighth tier since August.
After making good on his promise to sign for his local club in August he scored a header in a 5-4 win.
But fast forward to March and Skrtel appears to have been elevated to free-kick duties.
The 104-cap Slovakian defender whipped a free-kick into the top corner against FK Bojnice.
Unfortunately, Skrtel was unable to help his side win the game, with his set-piece instead only serving as a consolation in a 2-1 defeat.
The centre-back had previously been playing with Spartak Trnava after being released by Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.
The combative centre-half was part of two Premier League title-challenging Liverpool sides under Rafael Benitez and Brendan Rodgers in 2008/09 and 2013/14 respectively.
After appearing more than 300 times for Liverpool, he joined Fenerbahce in 2016.
He briefly joined Italian side Atalanta in 2019 before moving to Turkey and linking up with Basaksehir who he was with for two years.
On his retirement while at Trnava, Skrtel explained: “There is a medical condition. I have problems with plaques, they limit me not only in football, but also in my personal life.
“I don’t remember a day I spent without pain.
“I have been training and wrestling in recent months under pills and injections.
“I had a problem walking with my son a hundred meters and I wouldn’t be able to handle this press on the stands, the pain is pretty bad.
“The worst are running, jumping and impacts. This is something we need in football.
“Therefore, I had to decide that the match with Dunajská would be the last.”
He was pictured alongside Reds team-mate Steven Gerrard in December, looking unrecognisable from his Anfield playing days with a full head of hair.
