Christopher Martins
Christopher Martins Pereira (born 19 February 1997) is a Luxembourgish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder for Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow on loan from Swiss Super League club Young Boys.
![]() Martins with Spartak Moscow in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Martins Pereira[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Luxembourg, Luxembourg[2] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Spartak Moscow | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Racing FC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Racing FC | 8 | (0) |
| 2013–2019 | Lyon B | 45 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Lyon | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Bourg-Péronnas (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | → Troyes (loan) | 30 | (2) |
| 2019– | Young Boys | 48 | (4) |
| 2022– | → Spartak Moscow (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012 | Luxembourg U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2012 | Luxembourg U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014 | Luxembourg U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014– | Luxembourg | 51 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2022 | |||
Club career
Martins is a youth exponent from Racing FC in Luxembourg City. He transferred to the Lyon Academy in 2013.[4][3]
Martins made his Lyon debut on 10 September 2017 in a Ligue 1 match against Guingamp. He started the match and was replaced by Jordan Ferri after 51 minutes in a 2–1 home win.[5]

In June 2019 he signed for Swiss club Young Boys.[6]
On 31 January 2022, he joined Russian club Spartak Moscow on loan with an option to buy.[7]
International career
Martins represented Luxembourg at youth international levels, playing for them in the under-17, under-19, and under-21 age groups.[3][8]
He was eligible to represent both Luxembourg and Cape Verde at international level; he rejected a call-up from Luxembourg's senior team in March 2013 as he had not decided which nation he wished to represent.[9][10] After being called up again by Luxembourg, he made his debut on 8 September 2014, at the age of 17.[11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 1 July 2019[3]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Racing FC | 2012–13 | Luxembourg National Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Lyon | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bourg-Péronnas (loan) | 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| Troyes (loan) | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| Career total | 57 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 3 | ||
International
- As of 30 March 2022[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Luxembourg's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Martins goal.[4]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 September 2018 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
References
- "UEFA Nations League 2021: Booking List before League phase Matchday 6" (PDF). UEFA. 16 November 2020. p. 9. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- "Christopher Martins Pereira". OL Web (in French). Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- Christopher Martins Pereira at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- "Christopher Martins Pereira". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- "Lyon vs. Guingamp - 10 September 2017 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- "L'OL vend Christopher Martins Pereira aux Young Boys de Berne". 13 June 2019.
- "Кристофер Мартинс — новый игрок «Спартака»!" (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 31 January 2022.
- Christopher Martins – UEFA competition record (archive)
- "Christopher Martins-Pereira convoqué avec le Luxembourg" (in French). Le Libéro Lyon. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- "L'énigme Christopher Martins-Pereira" (in French). Le Libéro Lyon. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- Didier Hiégel (8 September 2014). "De l'audace, de l'audace encore de l'audace" (in French). Luxemburger Wort. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- "Young Boys wins Swiss league title in 54th week of season". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Schweizerischer Fussballverband - Statistik und Resultate". www.football.ch (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
