Reds fans will be delighted Martin Skrtel stayed at Anfield…
Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel has admitted he seriously thought about leaving Anfield last summer, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The 29-year-old couldn’t get into Brendan Rodgers’ team in the second half of last season, and many fans reckoned he wasn’t comfortable enough with the ball at his feet to fit into the manager’s attractive brand of football.
As a result, Napoli and Zenit St. Petersburg were strongly linked to Skrtel in the summer, but the defender decided to stay at the club he joined in 2008 and fight for his place.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about leaving,” Skrtel told the ECHO.
“It wasn’t easy for me after last season. I was on the bench in the second part of the season and that was something new for me.
“But it is not easy to leave a club like Liverpool because they are still one of the best clubs in the world. After six years here it was not easy to say ‘okay, I’m leaving’,” said the defender.
Skrtel has been a virtual ever present in Liverpool’s defence though, and scored a crucial brace against Arsenal at the weekend to take his league tally to four. He’s actually rated as the best defender in the entire league this season, which shows how much he’s improved since last term.
“Before this season started I just said to myself ‘I will fight and work very hard to try to show people I am able to play and start the games’,” he continued.
“Liverpool are a massive club and I just wanted to prove to people I am able to play for this club.”
Skrtel will no doubt start for Liverpool this evening away to Fulham, knowing that a win will put his side firmly in the title race.
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