23 June 2025
Former Belgian international Dries Mertens announced his retirement from football on Monday after a stellar career. In a video addressed to his former Napoli teammate, Slovakian Marek Hamsik, who is organizing a friendly match early next month, Mertens, 38, said, "I'm retiring from football, but I'm putting on my boots one last time for you."
The former Belgian international continued, "I can't wait to play my last game."
Mertens leaves behind a storied career in European football, having begun his professional career with Dutch club Utrecht in 2009 before shining for PSV Eindhoven between 2011 and 2013. He then made history with Napoli between 2013 and 2012, scoring 148 goals in 397 appearances. Mertens holds the record as Napoli’s all-time leading goalscorer with 148 goals.
In his last two seasons, Mertens performed well with Turkish club Galatasaray.
Mertens also had a distinguished career with the Belgian national team, where he was part of the team's golden generation, appearing in 109 matches and scoring 21 goals.
