Bronze medalists of the Latvian Virslīga, FK Liepāja, have announced that two of their foreign players will be leaving the club following the end of the season – former team captain Marko Simić and his compatriot Anto Babić.
The 38-year-old Marko Simić returned to Liepāja in the summer of 2024 after spending two years back home in Montenegro. The experienced defender had already made his mark during his first spell with the club, when he helped FK Liepāja lift the Latvian Cup in 2020. This season, however, Simić’s appearances were limited – he featured in only nine league matches, scoring in two of them. A lengthy injury kept him sidelined for much of the campaign, and now the veteran defender’s time in Liepāja has come to an end.
Across both of his stints with the team, Simić played 70 matches in the Liepāja shirt and scored 10 goals.
Another Montenegrin, Anto Babić, will also depart the club after the season. The 25-year-old defender joined Liepāja same as Simic last summer, at a time when the team was struggling near the bottom of the table and fighting to save their season. From the moment he arrived, Babić became an important part of the lineup, and this year he remained one of the key figures in the squad.
Over the course of the 2025 Virslīga season, Babić made 30 appearances, scoring twice. Although his play occasionally included costly mistakes leading to goals, he was kept in the starting eleven under every coach. In fact, he was among the most-used outfield players on the team this season in terms of minutes played.
In total, Babić played 53 matches for FK Liepāja during his season and a half at the club. Before joining the Latvian side, he spent his career in his native Montenegro.
