Former Liverpool man looks unrecognisable and is now playing 'like Messi' over seven years after leaving

For anyone who hasn’t cast eyes on Martin Skrtel for a while, his appearance can come as a shock.

Famed for his aggressively-shaven head during his playing days at Liverpool, the former defender strides into the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Singapore with a fine head of hair.

“It’s not fake!” he laughs. “A lot of people have now said that I do not look as scary or ugly any more, so I think I will keep it!”

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That, though, is nothing compared to how Skrtel is now enjoying his football. Having retired professional in 2022, the former centre-back is keeping a promise by turning out for local club FK Hajskala Raztocno.

“You wouldn’t believe it, but I’m the striker for them now!” he says to the ECHO. “Actually, I’m more of a Messi-style player in that I just go where I want. When I left my village at 15 to play professionally, I said to my friends that one day when I have retired that I would come back and play with them again.

“And they remembered that, so in the last few years of my career they’d be calling me saying, ‘just finish, we want to play with you again!’. Then when I retired, obviously my fitness wasn’t the best but I wanted to fulfil my promise, so I went back.

“It’s the lowest division in Slovakia, the level isn’t the best. In the first game I was at centre-back, and I like to pass the ball out from the back but there wasn’t anyone to pass to. So I said to the coach, ‘maybe I should go to the midfield and have the ball a bit more’. So I stayed there all season and scored a few goals. I enjoy it because it’s different. You’re just playing the game and afterwards can have a few