Mertens announces end of football career in video to former teammate

Football

By ANP · 5 hours ago · Modified: 5 hours ago

RTL

ISTANBUL (ANP/AFP) - Dries Mertens has announced the end of his football career in a special way. The former Belgian international did so in a video message to Marek Hamsik, his Slovakian former teammate at Napoli.

"I have stopped playing football, but for you I will put on my shoes one more time, especially for you," says Mertens in the video, in which he accepts the invitation to participate in Hamsik's farewell match. With that statement, the 38-year-old Mertens seems to have announced his retirement.

Mertens played in the Eredivisie for FC Utrecht and PSV before moving to Napoli in 2013, where he would stay for nine seasons and become the club's top scorer. In 2022, he signed with Turkish club Galatasaray, where his contract expired this summer. Mertens played 109 times for the Belgian national team.