Martin Valjent
Slovak footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin Valjent (born 11 December 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Mallorca and the Slovakia national team.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Valjent[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 December 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Mallorca | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dubnica | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Dubnica | 14 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Ternana | 76 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Chievo | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Ternana (loan) | 38 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | → Mallorca (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2019– | Mallorca | 230 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Slovakia U18 | ||
| 2014 | Slovakia U19 | 14 | (2) |
| 2015–2017 | Slovakia U21 | 19 | (2) |
| 2018– | Slovakia | 17 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 June 2026 | |||
Club career
At the age of 17 in summer 2013, Valjent joined Italian Serie B club Ternana Calcio.[3]
In August 2018, Valjent moved to RCD Mallorca on loan, a prominent team in Segunda División.[4] In February 2021, he extended his contract with Mallorca until 2025, emphasizing his dedication to the club.[5][6] On 24 February 2024, Valjent played his 200th match for RCD Mallorca in a 2023–24 Copa del Rey match against Deportivo Alavés which ended in a 1–1 draw.[7] In 2025, he extended his contract until 2029.[8]
International career
Valjent was first called up to the Slovakia national team by Ján Kozák sr. for fixtures against Netherlands and Morocco on 31 May and 4 June 2018 respectively. This was done due to Gyömbér and Štetina's injuries.[9] Valjent debuted during a match against Morocco in Geneva, replacing Tomáš Hubočan in the 79th minute.[10]
Valjent's first competitive start came in a Euro 2020 qualifying fixture against Croatia on 6 September 2019 in Trnava, with Valjent playing as a right-back. Slovakia lost the game 4–0.[11] It was that Valjent had a difficult task in defending Dejan Lovren at the side-line, as his preferred post is the one of a centre-back.[12] In October, Valjent returned to the national team in a friendly match against Paraguay on his preferred post. His performance was reported on very positively, receiving praise from RTVS' commentary expert Marián Zeman during the farewell game for Martin Škrtel, with whom he starred in the starting XI, as well as Hubočan and Adam Nemec. This game also coincided with a return to Tehelné pole after some ten years and ended in a 1–1 draw.[13]
On 26 August 2020, Valjent was called up by the Slovak senior squad to take part in the two opening matches of the UEFA Nations League against the Czech Republic and Israel.[14]
Slovak media intensively speculated about the possible reasons for Valjent's continued exclusion from the national team after 2022, in spite of his consistent performances in La Liga. The manager of the national team Francesco Calzona refused to elaborate on the absence of call-ups, although he praised Valjnet's professionalism and positive attitude in the national team.[15][16][17]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 23 May 2026[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dubnica | 2012–13[19] | 2. liga | 14 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Ternana | 2013–14 | Serie B | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Serie B | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Serie B | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Serie B | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 2 | ||
| Chievo | 2018–19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Ternana (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie B | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 3 | |
| Mallorca (loan) | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Mallorca | 2019–20 | La Liga | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Segunda División | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
| 2025–26 | La Liga | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| Total | 259 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 280 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 386 | 9 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 413 | 9 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Promotion Playoffs
- Appearance in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 5 June 2026[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 17 | 1 | |
- Slovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Valjent goal.[20]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2026 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Kosovo | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |