Anthony Martial

Early career and Lyon

Born in Massy, Essonne, Martial spent his youth years with Paris-based 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 Lyon 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. 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.

Monaco

On 30 June 2013, 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…

Youth

Martial scored five goals as France topped their qualification group for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: two goals in a 5–0 win over the Faroe Islands, and a hat-trick against Northern Ireland in Luxembourg. He added two more in elite round victories against Switzerland and Sweden to confirm qualification. He netted once in a group stage exit at the final tournament in Slovenia, a 2–2 opening game draw with Iceland at the Domžale Sports Park. Martial played all five games for France under-19 at the 2013 European Championship in Lithuania, finishing as runners-up to Serbia. He was one of five Frenchmen selected in the Team of the Tournament.

Senior

On 26 August 2015, Martial was called up to the senior France squad for the first time, for friendlies against Portugal and Serbia in the following month. He made his debut in the former on 4 September at Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade, replacing Karim Benzema for the final 16 minutes of a 1–0 win. On 11 October, Martial made his first start for Les Bleus in a 2–1 win against Denmark at Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, and assisted the opening goal by Olivier Giroud. Due to Martial's performances in the 2015–16 season with Manchester United, he earned a spot on France's 23-man squad for Euro 2016, in which France were the tournament runners up. On 17 May 2018, Martial was named on the standby list for the 23-man French squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, he did not make the final squad…

Aziz Benaaddane, one of Martial's coaches at Les Ulis, told the BBC Sport in 2015 that as a six-year-old, Martial was able to run in a straight line to the goal: "We've got 400 youngsters playing for us but a talent like that arrives only once every five or six years. We felt it, we saw the potential and we pushed him". Mahamadou Niakite, another coach, added that Martial was put in higher age groups, as at the age of six he had the ability of most eight-year-olds, and at around the age of 12–13 he was focused on becoming a professional. According to journalist Philippe Auclair, Martial plays in a style similar to former French international Thierry Henry, with speed and technical ability both in wide positions and up front. Henry himself praised Martial after his goalscoring debut, while Martial himself refuted the comparison, saying: "I don't think we have the same type of game – he was very quick whereas I rely more on power and technique. But it's always good to be compared to great players". In the aftermath of France's 2–1 win over Denmark in October 2015, Fenerbahçe defender Simon Kjær was reportedly stunned after playing against him to learn that Martial was just 19. He told French newspaper L'Équipe: "He's really good for 19. I didn't know him when I was in France. He's very, very hard to mark because he knows how to do a lot of things. Not only is he quick, but he's also technically good." Although he has been used as a centre-forward, he primarily plays on the…

Martial is of Guadeloupean descent. His older brother, Johan, is a professional defender, who represented France up to under-20 level. He has another older brother, Dorian, who was the captain of the senior team at Les Ulis. His cousin, Alexis, is also a professional footballer. The Martial family placed high emphasis on the education of their children. His youth coaches describe him as a shy and quiet person. Martial is a Roman Catholic. Martial was previously married to Samantha Jacquelinet, with whom he has a daughter, Peyton. In July 2018, his then partner, former reality television contestant Mélanie Da Cruz, gave birth to their son, Swan; Martial left Manchester United's pre-season tour to attend the birth. Martial and Da Cruz married in 2019, before announcing their separation in March 2022. He announced the birth of his third child, a son, on 28 June 2025 via Instagram.