Lieke Martens: ‘Ronaldinho was my idol. Long hair, great dribbles … I loved him’ | Suzanne Wrack

The Netherlands midfielder, the reigning Fifa and Uefa player of the year, on life at Barcelona and the pressures of being a role model

The unusual girl playing football in the small Dutch town of Bergen in the late 90s does not know there is a women’s game. Instead her idol is Ronaldinho. Why? “Because I was a Barça fan,” says Lieke Martens. “He had long hair like me and great dribbles. I loved him. He was technical, made a lot of goals.”

Related: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lieke Martens take Fifa player-of-the-year awards

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