Martin Paskalev

Martin Paskalev grew up in Svilengrad and started out at his hometown club before moving through the academies of CSKA Sofia and Lokomotiv Plovdiv, where he settled and joined the senior squad in 2018. His debut came in April 2019, and he was part of the Lokomotiv Plovdiv squad that won the Bulgarian Cup that season, though he did not feature in the final itself.

A loan spell at Spartak Varna in the 2020–21 season, in the Bulgarian Third League, turned into a productive stretch for the young centre-back: 23 appearances and seven goals. He returned to Lokomotiv Plovdiv in July 2021 and established himself as a regular starter, going on to make more than 90 league appearances for the club and adding four league goals along the way.

In February 2025 Paskalev left Bulgaria for the first time, joining Bosnian Premier League side FK Sarajevo on a free transfer. He spent roughly a year there before returning home in January 2026, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with Arda Kardzhali that runs to June 2028, again as a free agent.

Right-footed and comfortable at centre-back, Paskalev has yet to add a senior or youth international cap for Bulgaria to his career.