Marten de Roon

Marten Elco de Roon (born 29 March 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team.

After representing various Dutch youth teams, he started his career at Sparta Rotterdam, and also played for SC Heerenveen in his home country before moving to Italian club Atalanta in 2015. He also played for English club Middlesbrough before rejoining Atalanta in 2017.

De Roon is a Dutch international, having played for the Netherlands at the U19 level before making his senior debut in 2016. He was named in the Dutch squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early life
De Roon was born in Zwijndrecht and raised in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, where he played in youth teams of ASWH. From ASWH, he continued to youth teams of Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam.

Sparta Rotterdam
De Roon made his Eredivisie debut for Sparta Rotterdam on 27 March 2010, starting in the match against Twente at De Grolsch Veste. He made a total of three appearances in the Eredivisie for the 2009–10 season.

Heerenveen
In April 2012, Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen announced the signing of De Roon on a three-year contract.

Atalanta
In July 2015, De Roon was signed by Serie A side Atalanta.

Middlesbrough
On 4 July 2016, De Roon signed for newly-promoted Premier League side Middlesbrough for a reported £12 million transfer fee. He scored his first goal for his new club – a 91st-minute equaliser – on 5 November 2016 in a 1–1 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. He went on to score a further 3 league goals for the club over the remainder of the season, including the only goal in a victory over Sunderland in the Tees–Wear derby, however Middlesbrough were relegated on 8 May 2017. On 18 July 2017, Middlesbrough confirmed that they paid £8.8 million for De Roon, with Atalanta earning another £900,000 after the midfielder played 30 games for the club.

Return to Atalanta
On 10 August 2017, De Roon re-signed for Atalanta for an undisclosed fee. He once again cemented himself as a starter under Gian Piero Gasperini, and helped Atalanta finish in a historic 3rd place in the 2018–19 season, earning them a spot in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage. He also scored a volley against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-finals in the 58th minute. Atalanta would win the tie 5–4, though lost in the final against Lazio. He made his Champions League debut on 18 September 2019 against Dinamo Zagreb.

In the 2023–24 season, he frequently captained his team and marked a milestone by playing his 250th Serie A match in a 3–0 away victory over Empoli, becoming the first foreign player to reach this achievement at the club. On 15 May 2024, he suffered a knee injury during the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, which resulted in a 1–0 defeat. This injury also sidelined him for the Europa League final, where his team secured their first-ever title in the competition with a 3–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

International career
De Roon has represented the Netherlands under-19 national team in the qualification rounds for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. On 12 November 2009, he made his debut and scored his first goal for the U-19 Oranje in a qualification match against Malta. On 13 November 2016, he made his debut for the senior team.

He was later named in the first Dutch squad chosen by new national team manager Ronald Koeman. This was in March 2018 for the friendlies against England and Portugal.

On 26 May 2021, he was named in the Dutch squad for the postponed UEFA Euro 2020. On 11 November 2022, he was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Later on, he missed the UEFA Euro 2024 due to a knee injury.

International

 * Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each De Roon goal.

Honours
Atalanta
 * UEFA Europa League: 2023–24

Netherlands
 * UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2019