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Former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has stated that he plays the Lionel Messi role for amateur side FK Hajskala Raztocno in the eighth tier of Slovakian football.
Speaking to The Athletic, he has claimed that he does not have a fixed role on the pitch. He moves to the midfield and also ends up playing as a striker in the middle of the match.
Calling it the 'Messi-role', Skrtel added that it has given him the freedom to roam around the pitch and run into the spaces he wants. He said:
"When I went along for the first game, I said I'd go in my normal position at centre-back but after 10 minutes, I said to the coach, 'Listen, how about I play as the No 6?'. After another 10 minutes, I said, 'How about I play further up?'. I played a few games as a striker and got a few goals. Now I've dropped a bit little deeper. I basically get to run where I want. A free role — a bit like Lionel Messi!"
Skrtel recently scored an excellent free kick for Raztocno against FK Bojnice. Joking about the strike, he added:
"I bet you couldn't believe it was me, am I right?. But it was me, I promise you. If I sent you the video of the one I took before that one, I tried to smash it and it went about 20 metres over the goal. Thankfully, the next one was better."
Skrtel played 320 games for Liverpool and also contributed 18 goals and six assists.
Why is former Liverpool star Martin Skrtel playing Sunday League football?
Martin Skrtel has revealed that he promised his friends that he would play with them after his retirement. Now at 38, he has helped take the number of fans watching the matches from 300 to over 500 per game.
The former Liverpool man said:
"I told my friends, 'One day when I'm retired, I'll come back home and play with you guys. It's the team in the village where I was born. My parents still live there and I have many friends there. I do it for them. When I first said I was going to play, everyone was thinking it would just be for one game. We had more than 3,000 people there. Now, it's usually about 500 to 600."
Skrtel has scored 10 goals this season, and his side are second in the table despite having a 56-year-old goalkeeper.
