SKRTEL: SPARTAK TRNAVA CAREER PROBED

Martin Skrtel signed for Spartak Trnava in his native Slovakia in August 2021following his decision to return to play club football in his home country. The experienced centre back returned to Slovakia after almost two decades playing club football in other countries. Martin Skrtel returned to the Slovakian league 17 years after his exit.

Skrtel had been without a club for several months before he signed for Slovakian top flight team Spartak Trnava in the summer of 2021. He had earlier left Turkish Super League club Istanbul Basaksehir by mutual consent at the start of 2021. Martin Skrtel left Istanbul Basaksehir with less than six months left on his contract at the time. His contract was scheduled to expire at the end of the 2020/21 seasonbefore the agreement for him to leave months earlier was reached between him and the club.

Martin Skrtel left Istanbul Basaksehir by mutual consent around one month after he suffered a serious Achilles injury. The retired Slovakian national team central defender ruptured his Achilles tendon and it ruled him out of action for several months. He had been part of an historic feat at Istanbul Basaksehir before his injury.
Martin Skrtel already has the experience of playing in the Turkish Super League in the colours of Fenerbahce. He returned to the league to sign for Istanbul Basaksehir at the start of the 2019/20 season. His signing was made official in September 2019.
Skrtel was an important player in defence for Istanbul Basaksehiron the way to winning the Turkish Super League for the first time in their history. The former Liverpool player scored three goals in 20 Turkish Super League appearances during the aforementioned title-winning campaign. Martin Skrtel won the league title in his debut season at Istanbul Basaksehir. He represented the Turkish club in the Champions League in the following season.