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.
Club career Martins is a youth exponent from Racing FC in Luxembourg City. He transferred to the Lyon Academy in 2013.
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.
In June 2019 he signed for Swiss club Young Boys. 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. In their announcement of the transfer, Young Boys said that Spartak was expected to buy him out at the conclusion of the loan. 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. On 14 July 2025, Martins's contract with Spartak was extended to June 2028.
International career Martins represented Luxembourg at youth international levels, playing for them in the under-17, under-19, and under-21 age groups.
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. After being called up again by Luxembourg, he made his debut on 8 September 2014, at the age of 17.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRacing-Union2012–13Luxembourg National Division80———80Lyon B2013–14CFA 210———102014–15CFA 2142———1422015–16CFA 2100———1002016–17CFA 2180———1802017–18CFA 210———102018–19CFA 210———10Total452———452Lyon2017–18Ligue 120—00—20FBBP01 (loan)2017–18Ligue 217131—20222Troyes (loan)2018–19Ligue 230210——312Young Boys2019–20Swiss Super League2223130—2832020–21Swiss Super League1120030—1422021–22Swiss Super League15010100—260Total48441160–685Young Boys U212019–201. Liga10———10Spartak Moscow (loan)2021–22Russian Premier League10140——141Spartak Moscow2022–23Russian Premier League18251——2332023–24Russian Premier League264111——3752024–25Russian Premier League233106——3392025–26Russian Premier League27491——3652026–27Russian Premier League3110—1152Total9714369001113424Career total2582548111603132536
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsLuxembourg201440201560201670201780201881201950202020202190202260202390202490202560202640Total831
Scores and results list Luxembourg's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Martins goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Christopher MartinsNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 8 September 2018 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 4–0 4–0 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
Honours Young Boys Swiss Super League: 2019–20 Swiss Cup: 2019–20
Spartak Moscow Russian Cup: 2021–22, 2025–26
References