Emotional Martin Skrtel announces he's retiring from football due to health worries

Former Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel has announced he is retiring from professional football after a 21-year career.

The Slovakian defender, who was most recently at Spartak Trnava, spent eight-and-a-half years at the Reds, working under the likes of Rafael Benitez, Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp. He made a total of 320 appearances for Liverpool and became a key figure during their Premier League title pushes in 2008/09 and 2013/14, scoring a remarkable seven goals in the latter season.

Following his departure from Anfield in 2016, Skrtel joined Fenerbahce and went on to play for Atalanta and Istanbul Basaksehir before returning to his homeland last August. The 37-year-old played just nine times for Spartak and has decided to retire due to health issues.

In a press conference, via Sport SK, Skrtel said: "By coming to Trnava, I fulfilled my dream. I think that even at this age I still have something to offer the team and I could play at the top level.

"But then 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 under pills and injections in recent months.

"I had a problem walking with my son a hundred metres. The pain is pretty bad. The worst issues are running, jumping and the impact. This is something we need in football. Therefore, I had to decide that the match with Dunajska would be the last. The last one not only in Spartak, but also in my career.

"I couldn't imagine life without football, but it's time to start following the mind, not the heart. We have only one health. I have civil life ahead of me and I want to have it on some level, not in pain."