Lieke Martens ends her playing career after 16 years, in which she won several awards, both individually and with her clubs, and represented the Netherlands a staggering 160 times.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Dutch women's football players of all time, Martens scored 62 goals for Oranje and became the first Dutch women's player to win FIFA's Women's World Player of the Year award.
"As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer, something that barely even existed at the time," Martens said on Instagram.
"I could never have imagined how far that dream would take me. Last year, I waved goodbye to the national team, and now I’ve decided to retire from club football as well. Despite having several great opportunities to continue, I’ve chosen to step away from the game I love so much and close this chapter of my career."
Martens went on to say she's prioritising being a mother to her son, Lowen, who was born on February 18th, 2025. Martens got married to former Ajax goalkeeper Benjamin van Leer in 2023.
Illustrious career
Martens started her career at sc Heerenveen in the Netherlands and went on to represent VVV-Venlo, Standard Liege, and FCR 2001 Duisburg in her earlier years.
After moving to Sweden to join Kopparsbergs/Goteborg, now BK Hacken, Martens's career took off when she joined Swedish top club Rosengard in 2016.
As an established leader of the Dutch national team by that point, the Netherlands stunningly won the 2017 European Championships in their own country. Martens was named Player of the Tournament with her three goals and two assists. The left winger went on to win FIFA's The Best Women's Player and the 2016/17 UEFA Women's Player of the Year awards.
Martens joined giants FC Barcelona following her successful EURO 2017 campaign and went on to play 156 games for the Catalonian side, scoring 73 goals and winning the league three times, the Women's Champions League once, four domestic cups, and two Spanish Super Cups.
In the final years of her career, Martens played for Paris Saint-Germain. In her two seasons in Paris, Martens played 57 games and scored ten goals. Martens didn't play a single game for PSG in the final season of her career due to being on pregnancy leave for the majority of it.
After winning EURO 2017 and finishing as runner-up in the 2019 World Cup, Martens announced her retirement from the Dutch national team in May 2024.