Marta is the greatest women’s soccer player of all time. While so many sports garner arguments about who’s the greatest player, in women’s soccer, Marta stands alone.
With her announced retirement from the Brazil national football team at the end of the year, the big question is if the GOAT will make one final Summer Olympics appearance.
“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment because regardless of whether I go or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she told CNN Esportes last week in confirming her planned retirement from international soccer.
“There is a moment when we have to understand that the time has come. I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young [players].”
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It’s unclear if she’ll also be hanging up her professional-soccer cleats, though she very well may not be ready to do that quite yet.
She’s been a staple for the Orlando Pride since 2017. Retiring from Brazil’s national team, with the next World Cup in three years, seems like the right move for the 38-year-old. She has two goals in five games with the Pride so far this season.
So what makes her the undeniable GOAT of women’s soccer?
She was named the best player in the world by FIFA six times and finished in the top three another seven times. In contrast, three of the best Americans — Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach — each won the award once. The next closest in the world is German Birgit Prinz, who won the honor three times.
In 2007, Marta was named the best player at the Women’s World Cup, despite Brazil finishing with a silver. She has scored more FIFA World Cup goals, 17, than any other player, men or women.
The one thing missing from her resume is a gold medal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup or the Olympics, where she won silver in 2004 and 2008.
Either way, Paris was going to be her final shot to compete for an elusive Summer Olympics gold medal. With Brazil currently ranked 10th in the world, it will be tough to go out with a magical Hollywood ending and a gold in Paris.
Marta has been publicly out for years, having once been engaged to marry her then-teammate with the Orlando Pride, Toni Pressley.
