Gelson Dany Batalha Martins (; born 11 May 1995) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. He began his career at

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, appearing in 125 competitive matches and winning two trophies during his three-year tenure. In 2018, he signed with Atlético Madrid and, the following year, joined

, initially on loan. A Portuguese international since 2016, Martins represented the nation at the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

and the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Praia, Cape Verde, Martins moved to Portugal in his teens and played youth football with C.F. Benfica and

. In March 2014, he was promoted to the B team of the latter and signed a contract lasting until 2019 and which included a release clause of €45 million. During his youth spell, his goal against C.F. União de Coimbra earned the praise of many, even though his coach at Sporting B had previously said that he was being "harmed" by not playing in his preferred position as winger. Martins made his professional debut on 24 August 2014, coming on as a late substitute for

Lewis Enoh Lewis Mbah Enoh (born 23 October 1992) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot club Olympiakos Nicosia. Club career Enoh started his career with Portuguese Second Division club GD Sourense. He scored 10 goals ...

in a 1–0 away win against S.C. Olhanense in the Segunda Liga. On 21 December, he scored his first goal in the competition, contributing to a 3–1 victory at Vitória S.C. B. In summer 2015, Martins was promoted to the main squad by new manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 1 ...

. He made his competitive debut on 9 August, playing injury time in a 1–0 win over

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

in the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

. Martins first appeared in the Primeira Liga on 14 August 2015, playing one minute in a 2–1 defeat of newly promoted C.D. Tondela. On 15 January of the following year, against the same opponent, he scored Sporting's 5,000th goal in the competition, putting the hosts ahead in an eventual 2–2 draw. On 11 June 2018, Martins requested that his contract with Sporting be terminated following an incident in May in which a group of around 50 supporters invaded the club's training centre and assaulted several players and staff members.

Atlético Madrid

On 18 July 2018, Martins accepted an offer from Atlético Madrid. One week later, he was announced as a new player of the Spanish club after agreeing to a five-year deal on a free transfer. Sporting made an official complaint to FIFA over the transfer and demanded compensation of €100 million, the release clause of his cancelled contract. Martins made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

debut on 20 August 2018 in a 1–1 away draw with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

, where he played 18 minutes in place of

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. A versatile player, Griezmann is known for his attacking, passing, and supporti ...

. Two months later, in a 1–0 victory against amateurs

UE Sant Andreu Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu () is a Spanish football team based in the city of Barcelona in the district of Sant Andreu, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 5, holding home ma ...

in the round of 32 of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, he scored his first goal. During his spell at the

Metropolitano Stadium Metropolitano Stadium (Spanish: ''Estadio Metropolitano''), also referred to as Cívitas Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017–18 season. It is lo ...

, Martins was sparingly played by coach

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...

Monaco

On 27 January 2019, Martins joined

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

on loan until the end of the season. He made his first Ligue 1 appearance on 2 February, providing an

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

for Aleksandr Golovin early in the first half and also being involved in

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

' goal in the 2–1 home victory over Toulouse FC. In July 2019, Martins joined Monaco outright after signing a five-year contract. The following 1 February, at the 30-minute mark of an away fixture against

Nîmes Olympique Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, ...

, he repeatedly pushed referee Mikael Lesage in retaliation for his teammate

Tiémoué Bakayoko Tiémoué Bakayoko (born 17 August 1994) is a French professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club FC Lorient, Lorient. Bakayoko plays as a centre midfielder, but can adapt to other positions such as a ...

's ejection seconds before, and was too sent off as his team eventually lost 3–1. For his actions, he was issued a six-month suspension on 5 March.

International career

Martins was in the Portugal squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, playing all the matches en route to a runner-up finish in Hungary. He also represented

the nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

at the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

, scoring in the group stage against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

against hosts

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in an eventual quarter-final exit. In late September 2016, Martins got his first call up to the senior team, for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

against the former, replacing

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms * Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira ...

for the last 18 minutes of the 6–0 win in Aveiro. Martins was picked by manager Fernando Santos for his 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. He made his debut in the competition on 20 June, playing roughly 30 minutes in the 1–0 group stage defeat of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

after replacing

Bernardo Silva Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva (; born 10 August 1994), known as Bernardo Silva or simply Bernardo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder, forward or a winger for club Manchester City and the ...

Style of play

Mainly a winger on both flanks, Martins can also operate as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, a trait which cemented his place in the junior national teams.

Personal life

Martins' cousin, Euclides Cabral, is also a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Sporting CP * Taça da Liga: 2017–18 *

: 2015 Atlético Madrid *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Portugal * FIFA Confederations Cup third place:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Individual *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

Team of the Tournament:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* SJPF Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2016, 2017 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

Squad of the Season: 2017–18

References

External links

Profile
at the AS Monaco FC website * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Gelson 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Praia Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople Cape Verdean footballers Portuguese footballers Footballers from Santiago, Cape Verde Association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Sporting CP B players Sporting CP footballers La Liga players Atlético Madrid footballers Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal international footballers 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Cape Verdean expatriate footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Monaco Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Monaco