Orlando Pride and Brazil superstar Marta announces contract extension with NWSL side in wake of 2024 championship victory

The 38-year-old Brazil legend has signed a two-year deal to keep her at the NWSL side through 2026

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Orlando Pride and midfielder Marta have agreed on a new two-year contract, extending the Brazil star through the 2026 season on the heels of their 2024 NWSL Championship victory and NWSL Shield triumph.

  After a brilliant 2024 season in which the 38-year-old was named a finalist for NWSL MVP and NWSL Midfielder of the Year - as well as being named to the 2024 NWSL Best XI First Team and the 2024 FIFPRO Women’s World 11 - she will return for ninth and 10th seasons with the Pride after an already stupendous eight-year run.

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Since joining the club in 2017, the midfielder has made 128 appearances, scoring 42 goals and recording 19 assists - leading the club in both categories all-time. Internationally, Marta is a six-time World Player of the Year and the lone player in the men's or women's game to be named five times in a row. She holds the record for the most goals scored at the World Cup with 17 and was the sport's first player to score at five-different World Cup tournaments.

  On Thursday, the club posted a video of the Brazilian in what began as an emotional farewell clip hinting at her her professional retirement - until the screen went black only for Marta herself to begin dancing, with fireworks in the background as she announced her extension.

• WHAT THE PRIDE SAID

  “Coming off the most successful season in our club’s history and, personally, one of the best of her professional career, re-signing Marta was a key business priority for us during this offseason,” Orlando Pride VP of sporting operations and sporting director Haley Carter said in a statement. “The impact she has made on our team, our locker room and our community is evident, of course through her incredible skill as a player, but even more so through her selfless and exemplary leadership style. We are thrilled to have secured her as a member of the Pride for the next two years and look forward to seeing what more we will accomplish during her tenure.”

• Getty Images

  WHAT NEXT FOR MARTA?

  Still in offseason mode, the 2025 campaign begins in February.