Lieke Martens has confirmed her departure from Barcelona Femeni.
The 29-year-old forward from the Netherlands has bid farewell to the club she joined back in 2017. She will join Paris Saint-Germain when her contract expires according to Mundo Deportivo, having already passed her medical at the Parc des Princes.
“After five wonderful years at this fantastic club and in this beautiful city I have decided to leave and start a new adventure,” Martens said. “I came to Barcelona at a time when the club was beginning an ambitious project to become a benchmark of women’s football.
“We worked hard and I think we achieved the goal we set five years ago.
“Winning the Champions League was an absolute highlight, as well as winning the Best Player in the World award from FIFA. I consider my time at Barcelona to be my greatest achievement. It has been great to have been part of the history of this club.
“Now it is time for another adventure and I want to thank the club, the coaches, the fans and, of course, all my teammates who supported me and helped me become the player I am today. Thank you for all your support and all your love. I wish you all the best and will see you again soon.”
Martens began her career in her native Netherlands with Heerenveen, breaking into their first team in 2009. A year later she left for VVV-Venlo before spells with Standard Liege, Duisburg, Kopparbergs/Goteborg FC and Rosenglad. She then joined Barcelona.
Martens won the Primera Division three times on the bounce with Barcelona as well as, as she mentioned, lifting the Champions League last summer. As well as that she also won four Copa de la Reina titles at Camp Nou, two Supercopa de Espana Femenina titles and three Copa Catalunya titles. She has scored 55 goals in 110 games for La Blaugrana.
Martens, who won FIFA’s The Best Women’s Player award in 2017, has also earned 133 caps for the Netherlands national team and scored 54 goals for her country.
