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.
Club career At the age of 17 in summer 2013, Valjent joined Italian Serie B club Ternana Calcio.
In August 2018, Valjent moved to RCD Mallorca on loan, a prominent team in Segunda División. In February 2021, he extended his contract with Mallorca until 2025, emphasizing his dedication to the club. 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. In 2025, he extended his contract until 2029.
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. Valjent debuted during a match against Morocco in Geneva, replacing Tomáš Hubočan in the 79th minute.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDubnica2012–132. liga140——140Ternana2013–14Serie B6000—602014–15Serie B35020—3702015–16Serie B25220—2722016–17Serie B33020—350Total7626000822Chievo2018–19Serie A0000—00Ternana (loan)2017–18Serie B38310—393Mallorca (loan)2018–19Segunda División2902040350Mallorca2019–20La Liga36010—3702020–21Segunda División33110—3412021–22La Liga36030—3902022–23La Liga30020—3202023–24La Liga28040—3202024–25La Liga31310103332025–26La Liga36020—3802026–27Segunda División6000—60Total2654160502864Career total3929220504199
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSlovakia201810201920202050202110202240202671Total201
Slovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Valjent goal.
+ List of international goals scored by ValjentNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 26 March 2026 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia 1–0 3–4 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
References
External links Profile at the RCD Mallorca website Eurofotbal profile Futbalnet profile (archived)