Liverpool FC defender Martin Skrtel has revealed that he has turned down Inter Milan before signing a new contract with the Merseyside club.
Martin Skrtel recently signed a new three-year contract, ending speculations about his future at the club. The 30-year-old center back joined the club in 2008, from Zenit, and has since then made 293 appearances for the first team.
In an interview Skrtel claimed that despite Inter Milana s interest in signing him, he chose to extend his stay with the Reds because they are a bigger club than the Italian giants. He also went onto reveal that the fact that his son was born in Liverpool, was also one of the reasons why he signed the new deal.
a Obviously there was talk about that (Inter Milan) but the priority for me was always to stay at Liverpool and sign a new contract here,a Skrtel said.
a Inter Milan are a big club but to my mind Liverpool are bigger.
a I am happy because I am staying at Liverpool and they were always my first choice.
a They changed the contract so obviously the talks were a little longer than they usually are but at the end of the day we agreed and that is the most important thing.
a Liverpool are one of the biggest and best football clubs in the world in my eyes and I was always dreaming about playing in England and for a big club like Liverpool.
a My dream came true and I have been here almost eight years in the city and we are used to it now. My son (Matteo) was born in Liverpool and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to stay.
a The thing is when you play for a club like Liverpool ita s not always just about the money, ita s about the fans, the people working for the club and everything about Liverpool.a a Skrtel was quoted as saying by LiverpoolEcho.
Much needed experience in a relatively young squad
The Slovakian international is currently one of the longest serving players in Brendan Rodgers’ squad, but his future came under a lot of speculations this summer. Both Inter Milan and Napoli were interested were monitoring his situation at the club.. Back in June, Skrtela s agent Karol Ksonto rubbished reports of being in contact with Napoli and revealed that a new contract is on the table.
Inter Milan, who are looking to reshape their squad this summer, maintained their interest in signing Skrtel, but the former Zenit defender opted to signing the new three-year deal. Although Skrtela s performances have been inconsistent last season, his experience is vital for a relatively young squad. With the departure of Steven Gerrard, the Reds needed someone in the dressing room who has been with the team for such a long period of time.
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