Lieke Elisabeth Petronella Martens is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger or midfielder for Division 1 Feminine club Paris Saint-Germain and the Netherlands national team.
63 Facts About Lieke Martens
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In 2015, Lieke Martens broke out on the international stage when she scored the Netherlands' first ever goal in a Women's World Cup against New Zealand.
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Weeks after her signing at FC Barcelona was made official, Lieke Martens participated in the Netherlands' 2017 UEFA Women's Euro campaign.
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Lieke Martens was the Netherlands' standout player at that year's Euro, where the Dutch won their first ever major international title with the women's national team.
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Lieke Martens was chosen as Player of the Tournament, and later in 2017, she was voted as The Best FIFA Women's Player as well as the UEFA Women's Player of the Year.
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In 2021, Lieke Martens was an essential part of FC Barcelona Femeni completing their first continental treble, winning the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Primera Division, and the Copa de la Reina all in the same season.
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Lieke Elisabeth Petronella Martens was born on 16 December 1992, in Bergen in the north of the Dutch province of Limburg.
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Lieke Martens recalls playing football in her garden throughout her childhood with two of her brothers, Jelle and Sjoerd.
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Lieke Martens began playing football at five years old at local club RKVV Montagnards.
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Lieke Martens made the step to the Vrouwen Eredivisie at sixteen, first representing SC Heerenveen.
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Lieke Martens scored twice in eighteen appearances for the club.
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Lieke Martens scored the club's first ever goal in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, a penalty against her former club SC Heerenveen.
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Lieke Martens played 20 matches for the club and scored nine times.
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In 2011, Lieke Martens made the move from the Vrouwen Eredivisie to the Belgian First Division, where she played for Standard Liege.
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Lieke Martens scored 17 goals in the six months she was at the club.
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Lieke Martens' transfer was delayed due to a paperwork mixup within the German Football Association, so she was not allowed to play for Duisburg until July 2012, despite the transfer being made official in March 2012.
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In November 2015, it was announced that Lieke Martens had left Goteborg, transferring to Damallsvenskan champions FC Rosengard on a one-year contract.
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Lieke Martens won the 2016 Svenska Supercupen with the club, as well as finishing the 2016 Damallsvenskan in second place.
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In July 2017, Lieke Martens signed for FC Barcelona for an undisclosed fee on a three-year-long contract.
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Lieke Martens had eight assists and 11 goals in the league that year, and was Barcelona's second-highest goalscorer behind Andressa Alves.
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Lieke Martens played all 120 minutes of the final that went to extra time, which Barcelona won through a Mariona Caldentey goal in the 122nd minute.
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Lieke Martens made it to that year's UWCL Team of the Season.
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In 2019, Lieke Martens started against Atletico Madrid in the Wanda Metropolitano, in a match that broke the attendance record for a women's football match with 60,739 attendees.
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Lieke Martens helped FC Barcelona reach the final of the UEFA Women's Champions League in her second season at the club.
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Lieke Martens returned to training in November 2019 and was medically cleared later in the month.
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Lieke Martens featured in the first ever edition of the Supercopa Femenina in 2020, where Barcelona played Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the competition.
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Lieke Martens started the quarterfinal match against Atletico Madrid, but was subbed off for Mariona Caldentey.
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Lieke Martens was substituted on in the 65th minute, and scored Barcelona's fourth goal of the match.
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Lieke Martens was injured for the first match of the tie, and for the second match of the tie, she came into the match as a substitute where she recorded an assist.
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Lieke Martens started the final on 16 May 2021, and was one of Barcelona's most involved forwards.
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Lieke Martens assisted Barcelona's fourth and final goal, a dribble down the wing and a cross into the box that was finished by Caroline Graham Hansen.
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Lieke Martens ended the competition having scored five goals and giving one assist in seven games, and was included in the UWCL Squad of the Season.
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Lieke Martens ended her season with 20 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.
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On 16 June 2022, Lieke Martens signed a three-season deal with Paris Saint-Germain.
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Lieke Martens represented the Netherlands at a U-15, U-16, U-17, and U-19 levels.
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Lieke Martens was at the 2010 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship with the Netherlands, her first of two U-19 Euro tournaments with the Netherlands.
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Lieke Martens played the first game of the group stages against France, substituting on for Vanity Lewerissa in the 30th minute.
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Lieke Martens started again in her last match of the group against Spain, where she scored once more with a header in the 39th minute.
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The Dutch met England in the semifinals where it went to penalties, and despite Lieke Martens converting her penalty, England won and went on to the final.
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Lieke Martens ended her tournament as top scorer, tied at four goals with German player Turid Knaak.
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Lieke Martens became a regular starter for the national team around 2012.
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Lieke Martens played all 90 minutes of each of the Netherlands' Group B matches.
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Lieke Martens scored again in the second leg of the playoff semifinal off an assist from Danielle van de Donk.
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In February 2016, Lieke Martens was announced as part of the Netherlands' squad for qualification at the 2016 Olympics.
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Lieke Martens was responsible for the shot that deflected off Millie Bright's leg and lead to an own goal in the 93rd minute.
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Lieke Martens was included in the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro Team of the Tournament and won the Bronze Boot.
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Lieke Martens was selected in the final squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, despite the fact that her large toe was injured.
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Lieke Martens trained separately from the rest of the Netherlands squad ahead of the final, and starting the final was going to be a "gameday decision" as manager Sarina Wiegman was not particularly confident about the evolution of Marten's injury.
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Lieke Martens started the 2019 Women's World Cup Final regardless, but had a hard head-to-head collision with United States defender Kelley O'Hara that caused them to both be down on the pitch for a few minutes.
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Lieke Martens continued to play to the second half, but after the Netherlands conceded two goals within ten minutes, she was subbed off for Jill Roord in the 70th minute.
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On 16 June 2021, Lieke Martens was named as one of the Netherlands' 18 first-team players at the 2020 Olympics, the Netherlands women's first ever Olympics tournament.
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Lieke Martens primarily plays as a winger that is capable of playing either flank, but prefers the left wing, despite being right-footed.
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Lieke Martens solely plays as a left wing for her national team and for Barcelona, but switched between the right and left wings for the beginning of her Barcelona career.
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Lieke Martens has a tendency to cut inside during dribbles.
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Lieke Martens has many times been compared to Dutch footballing legend Johan Cruyff, in terms of their playing positions, playing styles, skills, and leadership, as well as the teams they both played for.
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Lieke Martens earned a Masters in football business from the Johan Cruyff Institute.
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Lieke Martens is considered one of the most marketable athletes in the world by SportsPro.
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Lieke Martens is a PepsiCo ambassador, and has featured in commercials for their brand, Lay's, alongside Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba.
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Lieke Martens is the face of Dutch jewelry brand Zinzi as well as a member of football media studio OTRO.
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In 2017, Lieke Martens was nominated for and won many individual awards for the first time in her career.
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In 2017, Lieke Martens was the first ever FC Barcelona player and the first ever Dutch player to be selected to the FIFPro Women's World XI, receiving the most votes out of any other player in selection that year.
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Lieke Martens was nominated again in 2019 where she finished 7th amongst the forwards, and in 2020, where she finished 10th among the forwards.
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In both 2018 and 2019, Lieke Martens was a nominee for the first two editions of the Women's Ballon d'Or.