Christopher Martins
Luxembourgish footballer
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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 and the Luxembourg national team.
|
Martins with Spartak Moscow in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Martins Pereira[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg[2] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Spartak Moscow | ||
| Number | 35 | ||
| 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) |
| 2019–2022 | Young Boys | 48 | (4) |
| 2022 | → Spartak Moscow (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2022– | Spartak Moscow | 97 | (14) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012 | Luxembourg U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2012 | Luxembourg U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014 | Luxembourg U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014– | Luxembourg | 83 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 9 August 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 June 2026 | |||
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] He won both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Swiss Super Leagues with the club.
On 31 January 2022, he joined Russian giants Spartak Moscow on a short-term loan.[7] In their announcement of the transfer, Young Boys said that Spartak was expected to buy him out at the conclusion of the loan.[8] Martins won the Russian Cup on 29 May 2022, with him starting in the 2-1 final victory against Dynamo Moscow in what is known as the Oldest Russian derby. On 3 June 2022, Spartak confirmed Martins' permanent transfer, and his signing until 2026.[9] On 14 July 2025, Martins's contract with Spartak was extended to June 2028.[10]
International career
Martins represented Luxembourg at youth international levels, playing for them in the under-17, under-19, and under-21 age groups.[3][11]
He was eligible to represent either Luxembourg, France, or 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.[12][13] After being called up again by Luxembourg, he made his debut on 8 September 2014, at the age of 17.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 9 August 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Racing-Union | 2012–13 | Luxembourg National Division | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Lyon B | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | CFA 2 | 14 | 2 | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||||
| 2015–16 | CFA 2 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | CFA 2 | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | CFA 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 2 | — | — | — | 45 | 2 | |||||
| Lyon | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| FBBP01 (loan) | 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| Troyes (loan) | 2018–19 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| Young Boys | 2019–20 | Swiss Super League | 22 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 28 | 3 | |
| 2020–21 | Swiss Super League | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 0 | – | 68 | 5 | |||
| Young Boys U21 | 2019–20 | 1. Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Spartak Moscow (loan) | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Spartak Moscow | 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 4 | 11 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 5 | |||
| 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 3 | 10 | 6 | — | — | 33 | 9 | |||
| 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 4 | 9 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| 2026–27 | Russian Premier League | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 1 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 97 | 14 | 36 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 134 | 24 | ||
| Career total | 258 | 25 | 48 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 325 | 36 | ||
- Appearances in Ligue 2 relegation play-offs
- One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Russian Super Cup
International
- As of 6 June 2026[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 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 83 | 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 |  Moldova | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |