Napoli Icon Dries Mertens Declares His Retirement from Football

Dries Mertens, the Belgian footballer whose contract with Turkish outfit Galatasaray expires at the close of June, announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38 on Monday.

“I’m stepping away from football, but I’ll don my boots one last time for you,” he shared in a video on his social media on Sunday night, addressing Slovakian Marek Hamsik, his former Napoli teammate, who has arranged a charity match for early July.

A 109-time international for Belgium, Mertens netted 21 times for the Red Devils, with his final appearance for the national side occurring in December 2022 during the World Cup held in Qatar.

Mertens began his professional career at Eendracht Aalst, joining on loan from Belgian powerhouse KAA Gent. He began in the Netherlands with the now-defunct AGOVV Apeldoorn, before making a name for himself at FC Utrecht between 2009 and 2011, and subsequently moving to PSV Eindhoven from 2011 to 2013.

His most successful period was spent at Napoli, where he played from 2013 to 2022, becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer with an impressive 148 goals in 397 matches. On June 6, 2025, he was honoured as an honorary citizen of Naples. Napoli supporters affectionately nicknamed him Ciro, giving him a more local identity, which he has now passed on to his son, Ciro Mertens.

In his final three seasons, Mertens played for Galatasaray, helping the team secure three Turkish Super Lig titles and achieving a domestic double in 2025.

Mertens clinched his first trophy with PSV in 2012, winning the KNVB Beker and the Johan Cruyff Shield, and would later add two Italian Cups to his collection with Napoli.