Napoli Icon Dries Mertens Declares His Retirement from Football

Dries Mertens, the Belgian footballer whose contract with Galatasaray is set to expire at the end of June, has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38. The news broke on Monday.

“I’m stepping away from football, but I’ll lace up my boots one last time for you,” he stated in a video shared on social media on Sunday night, directed at Slovakian international Marek Hamsik, a former team-mate at Napoli who is coordinating a charity match in early July.

Mertens, a veteran of 109 international matches for Belgium, found the back of the net 21 times for the national team, with his final appearance coming during the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022.

His football journey began with Eendracht Aalst, where he was loaned from KAA Gent. After kicking off his career at now-defunct AGOVV Apeldoorn in the Netherlands, Mertens rose to prominence at FC Utrecht from 2009 to 2011, subsequently signing with PSV Eindhoven from 2011 to 2013.

The pinnacle of Mertens’ career was his time at Napoli, spanning from 2013 to 2022, where he became the club’s all-time leading scorer, netting 148 goals in 397 appearances. In recognition of his contributions, Mertens was awarded honorary citizenship of Naples on June 6, 2025. Affectionately dubbed ‘Ciro’ by Napoli fans, this moniker has since been passed down to his son, Ciro Mertens.

In his final three seasons at Galatasaray, he added three Turkish Super Lig titles to his accolades, including a domestic double in 2025.

Mertens began his trophy-laden career with a KNVB Beker and Johan Cruyff Shield during his time at PSV in 2012 and later added two Italian Cups with Napoli to his collection.