Legendary Brazilian football player Marta has announced her retirement from international football this year. At 38 years old, she is known to be Brazil’s all-time record goalscorer in the said sport.
If Marta is chosen for Brazil’s team this summer in Paris, she might compete in her sixth Olympic Games. The athlete declared: “If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team.”
“There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete,” Marta added.
Marta’s journey in international football
In Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, Marta placed second in the Olympic Games but was defeated by the US team both times. With 17 goals in 23 appearances throughout six World Cups, Marta is the all-time top goal scorer for both men’s and women’s teams.
When Brazil lost to Germany in the 2007 World Cup, she came the closest to winning the championship. Following Brazil’s loss from the World Cup in the previous summer, she declared that “there is no more World Cup for Marta”.
With her retirement, she is at ease handing the torch to the upcoming Brazilian football players.
Marta remarked: “We have a really qualified team with really talented girls who, as the years go by, you will see what I’m talking about…Because of this I feel very comfortable saying: ‘Listen, I’m passing on to you, I’m going to pass on the baton and you continue to carry on this legacy.'”
Source: BCC