The Orlando Pride and midfielder Marta have agreed to a new two-year contract. The Brazilian returns to the Pride after captaining Orlando to both the 2024 NWSL Shield and the 2024 NWSL Championship last season.
Marta Da Silva has been in the spotlight of professional soccer since 2002 when she was invited to represent her home country of Brazil in the Under-20 World Cup. In her 22 years on the international stage, she is the only women’s player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year six times.
She also holds the record for most career goals at the FIFA World Cup, with 17 for Brazil, and was the first player in the sport’s history to score at five different World Cup tournaments. In 2024, FIFA honored the 38-year-old by naming an award after her. The “Marta Award” will be given to the player who is deemed to have scored the best goal in women’s soccer.
Marta’s 2024 season was one of the most successful seasons of her Pride career. She led Orlando to its first-ever professional league title and was named a finalist for NWSL Most Valuable Player and NWSL Midfielder of the Year. Marta also landed on the 2024 NWSL Best XI First Team and the 2024 FIFPRO Women’s World XI.
In the 2024 season, she scored 11 goals across all competitions, which was the fourth most in the NWSL, and the most goals she has scored in a single season since 2017. Marta scored in both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches for the Pride on their way to becoming the 2024 NWSL Champions.
All across football, Marta is looked at as a legend and inspiration.
“Playing alongside Marta was a dream come true for me,” said Brazilian teammate, Ary Borges.
“After getting to know her as a human being, you only admire Marta even more. You can understand why people refer to her as the Queen of Football – she leads by example on and off the pitch,” Borges added.
United States Women’s National Team defender Casey Kreuger added her own take about playing against Marta.
“She’s the legend. I mean, there’s no other way to put it,” Krueger said. “Just playing against her and just seeing what she’s done for the game, just what she means both on and off the field, it’s been incredible.”
“I think for most players in the room, she’s one of the most popular players in the world, said midfielder Andi Sullivan.
“She is a player that paved the pathway for what we could be, what the league could be, and what women’s soccer could be. She was always someone who [you] would watch on a highlight reel, and she was always very joyful. And so to get to play against her, it’s like, ‘oh, like, I’m playing against this legend’ and she’s, she’s such an incredible player,” Sullivan added.
One of the most memorable off-field moments of Marta’s career came at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Addressing the cameras moments after being knocked out by hosts France in a 2-1 quarter-final defeat, she delivered an impassioned plea.
“Women’s football depends on you to survive,” Marta began.
“There’s not going to be a Formiga forever, there’s not going to be a Marta forever, there’s not going be a Cristiane forever. We’re asking for support; you have to cry at the beginning so you can smile at the end.”
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