Former Netherlands international and FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, Lieke Martens, has officially announced her retirement from professional football at the age of 32. The decision brings an end to a stellar 16-year playing career in which she amassed numerous individual and team awards and represented her country on 160 occasions.
In a statement shared on Instagram, Martens explained that her decision was driven by a desire to prioritize motherhood after the birth of her son, Lowen, in February 2025. “As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer, something that barely even existed at the time,” Martens wrote. “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.”
Martens’s illustrious career saw her rise to prominence as one of the greatest Dutch women’s football players of all time. She netted 62 goals for the national team and became the first Dutch woman to win the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. Her defining moment came during the 2017 European Championships, where she was named Player of the Tournament after helping the Netherlands to a stunning victory on home soil. That year also saw her win The Best FIFA Women’s Player and the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year awards.
Her career at the club level was equally impressive. After starting in the Netherlands, Martens’s career took off in Sweden before she joined Spanish giants FC Barcelona in 2017. During her time there, she played 156 games, scored 73 goals, and was a key part of teams that won three league titles, one Women’s Champions League, and four domestic cups. She concluded her career at Paris Saint-Germain, where she played for two seasons before taking a leave of absence for her pregnancy.
