Liverpool FC’s Martin Skrtel reveals the reason for contract rejection as “unacceptable” clause that expects him to play a certain number of games for full payment.
It was reported last month that talks over a new deal for the second longest serving Liverpool player, behind only Lucas, had stalled after Liverpool FC included a clause relating to number of games he must play each season.
Skrtel is quoted by Slovakian newspaper Aktualne explaining why he has rejected the offer:”Ita s unacceptable for me. I think that such contracts offered to players who are much older than me or the player who had some health problems. And I dona t feel so old that I could sign such an agreement.”
Liverpool FC have come under scrutiny for their contract policy with Steven Gerrard when announcing his exit saying he would have signed a new contract if it was offered to him in the summer. Jordan Henderson contract situation also threatened to be going wrong briefly which led Captain Gerrard to come out in the press and say that he is worried about the way Henderson’s contract is being allowed to run down with only a year left. Since then. Liverpool FC have gone onto sign Jordan Henderson, Jordan Ibe, Daniel Sturridge, Andre Wisdom on long term contracts and have tied up Kolo Toure and Jon Flannagan on short term deals.
Skrtel is now 30 years of age. Both, Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC have separate contract policies for players over and under 30 years of age. Both clubs offer only a one year contract extension to players over 30 should their contract need renewal to minimize the financial risks. Arsenal had come under increased pressure when players came out, most notably Arteta, urging the club to scrap the policy. Liverpool seems to have worked around the problem by not reducing the length of the contract but the financial compensation would vary depending on the player’s appearances for the team. And while it looks like a smart move, it clearly has backfired with Martin Skrtel already feeling Liverpool FC have lost confidence in him as is clear with his statement to the Slovak press.
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