Dries Mertens

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Mertens made his Belgium debut in 2011, and made over 100 appearances for the national team. He was part of the nation's squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, helping them to a third-place finish at the 2018 tournament. In 2016, he was named Belgian Footballer of the Year.

In Their Own Story

On 28 November 2018, Mertens scored his 100th goal for Napoli when he netted twice in a 3–1 UEFA Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade. On 14 April 2019, he made his 200th Serie A appearance for the club in a 3–1 win over Chievo, marking the occasion with an assist for Kalidou Koulibaly's opening goal. On 28 April, he scored in a 2–0 away win over Frosinone, which allowed him to equal Diego Maradona's tally of 81 goals in Serie A for Napoli. The following season, in October 2019, he surpassed Maradona's tally. In 2020, Mertens scored his 122nd goal for Napoli, surpassing Marek Hamšík as the club's all-time top goalscorer.

Reader's Guide

Mertens started his career as a boy at Stade Leuven. He spent five years in the youth setup at Anderlecht before being released in 2003. He then signed for Gent, and was loaned to Eendracht Aalst for the 2005–06 season. On 1 July 2006, he signed for AGOVV Apeldoorn on a season-long loan with option to purchase. He made 110 appearances across all competitions for AGOVV during his three seasons and netted 31 goals. In March 2009, he agreed to join Utrecht for a €600,000 transfer fee. His two-season spell in Utrecht yielded 21 goals in 86 appearances across all competitions. In June 2011, he signed for PSV Eindhoven in a dual transfer with Kevin Strootman for a combined fee of €13 million. He won the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield in 2012. He departed PSV having made 88 appearances and scored 45 goals over two seasons. In 2013, Mertens signed for Napoli for a reported fee of €9.5 million. He won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 2014, and was named in the Serie A Team of the Year during the 2016–17 season. In 2020, Mertens scored his 122nd goal for Napoli, surpassing Marek Hamšík as the club's all-time top goalscorer. In 2022, he joined Turkish side Galatasaray, and won three consecutive Süper Lig titles.

Did You Know?

• Mertens scored his first hat-trick for PSV in a 6–1 drubbing of Excelsior on 28 August 2011.
• He scored four goals in a 5–3 win over Torino on 18 December 2016.
• Mertens scored in the 90th minute of the 2014 Coppa Italia final to secure a 3–1 win over Fiorentina.