Anthony Martial

Anthony Jordan Martial (born 5 December 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United.

Born in Massy, Essonne, Martial spent his youth years with Paris-based CO Les Ulis from 2001, the same team who produced French internationals Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra.

Evra closely monitored the progress of Martial, and allowed him to play in one of his pairs of football boots at the age of 12.

At the same age, Martial trialled at Manchester City.

At just 14 years old in 2009 he was spotted by scouts from the Olympique Lyonnais academy and joined it the same year.

During his second season in the Under-17 team he distinguished himself by scoring 32 goals in 21 games, which resulted in a call-up to the France national under-17 football team for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Slovenia.

He made his professional debut for Lyon on 6 December 2012, in a Europa League group stage match against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona, replacing goalscorer Yassine Benzia for the final 10 minutes of a 2–0 victory at the Stade de Gerland.

Martial made his debut in the North-West Derby at Old Trafford on 12 September as a 65th-minute substitute for Juan Mata, and scored the final goal of a 3–1 win over Liverpool.

Van Gaal called it a "marvellous goal".

Eight days later, in his first Premier League start, he scored twice in an away win, 3–2 at Southampton.

On 23 September, again as a replacement for Mata, Martial scored his fourth goal in four games for his new club, concluding a 3–0 win over Ipswich Town in the third round of the League Cup.

After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his professional career at Lyon, before transferring to AS Monaco in 2013 for a fee of €6 million.

His first Ligue 1 game was on 3 February 2013 against Ajaccio, when he came on as a substitute in the 79th minute for Rachid Ghezzal in a 3–1 away loss.

He made two further appearances from the bench that season.

On 30 June 2013, AS Monaco announced they had signed Martial to a three-year contract for a fee of €5 million plus bonuses.

On 24 November, he made his first league appearance for the club at the age of 17, replacing Radamel Falcao after 63 minutes and playing a part in Mounir Obbadi's goal which gave victory away to FC Nantes.

He scored his first goal for the principality club on his first start, a 2–0 win over Rennes at the Stade Louis II six days later.

His campaign was disrupted by a sprained ankle against Valenciennes in December.

This was the highest transfer fee paid for a teenager, breaking the previous record of £27 million that United had paid for Luke Shaw a year earlier, and that Paris Saint-Germain had paid for Marquinhos in 2013.

United paid £36 million up front for Martial, but his contract contained three bonus clauses worth £7.2 million each, taking the potential fee to £57.6 million.

£44.7 million ended up being the total fee, due to only one of the three bonus clauses being met.

On 27 January 2014, he extended his contract until June 2018.

In his second season at Monaco, Martial scored nine goals in 36 Ligue 1 games, starting on 5 October 2014 when as a substitute for Lucas Ocampos, he gained a 1–1 draw at reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain with a last-minute strike from close range.

He was a member of Monaco's squad for two seasons before signing for Manchester United in 2015 for an initial fee of £36 million and £21.6 million in potential bonus payments; making it the highest fee paid for a teenager in football history at the time.

He was the recipient of the 2015 Golden Boy Award for the best under-21 player in Europe.

In his debut season with Manchester United, Martial won the 2015–16 FA Cup and established himself as one of the most exciting prospects in the world.

His trajectory stalled the following season, but he won more trophies under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

A youth international for France from under-16 to under-21 level, Martial made his senior debut in 2015.

He scored twice against a 10-man Bastia on 13 March 2015 in a 3–0 home victory.

On 4 August 2015, Martial scored his first goal in European competition, in a 4–0 home win over BSC Young Boys in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League; Monaco advanced 7–1 on aggregate.

On 1 September 2015, Martial completed a move to Manchester United for £36 million, on a four-year contract with the option of another year.

He was named in their squad for UEFA Euro 2016, appearing in the final as France were defeated by Portugal.

Martial had his best ever goalscoring season in 2019–20, netting 23 times in all competitions, and he was awarded Manchester United Players' Player of the Year.

However, his form declined in seasons after that and in January 2022, Martial was loaned out to Spanish club Sevilla until the end of the 2021–22 season.

On 26 June, he further extended his link with the team until 2019.

The clauses each related to certain accomplishments being achieved in the four years after the transfer, including if Martial scored 25 goals during that span, racked up 25 caps for France or won the Ballon d'Or before June 2019.

Manager Louis van Gaal called Martial an acquisition for United's future rather than for immediate use, and called the transfer fee "ridiculous", alleging that Manchester United regularly had to pay £10 million more than other teams.

Upon signing, Martial said, "I'm so excited to join United, I have always wanted to play in the Premier League and to join the biggest club in the world is what every young footballer dreams of."

Van Gaal stated, "Anthony is a naturally talented, young, multi-functional forward with great potential. I believe this is the club for him to continue his development."

The fee was reportedly met with astonishment by the French public.