Marten Paalberg

Marten Paalberg
Personal information
Full name Marten-Chris Paalberg
Date of birth (2008-10-08) 8 October 2008
Place of birth Pärnu, Estonia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Saint-Étienne
Number 49
Youth career
Vaprus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2026 Vaprus 28 (15)
2026– Saint-Étienne 0 (0)
International career‡
2022 Estonia U15 2 (0)
2023 Estonia U16 3 (1)
2024–2025 Estonia U17 13 (6)
2025– Estonia U19 2 (0)
2025– Estonia 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 February 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2025

Marten-Chris Paalberg (born 8 October 2008) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for French Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne and the Estonia national team.

Early life

Paalberg was born on 8 October 2008 in Pärnu, Estonia. The son of Katri and Andres, he started playing football at the age of six.[1]

Club career

Paalberg spent his entire youth career at Pärnu Vaprus before making the step up to the club's first team in 2024. He made his Premium Liiga debut on 19 May 2024 against FCI Levadia at the age of 15.[2] During the 2025 season, Paalberg established himself as one of the league's breakout players while being 16 years old.[3] He scored 15 league goals and became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Estonian top division.[4] His performances attracted interest from several foreign clubs, including clubs from Premier League and Serie A.[5]

On 2 February 2026, Paalberg signed with Saint-Étienne in French Ligue 2 for a reported transfer fee exceeding €1 million, making him the most expensive outgoing transfer in Estonian league history.[6][4]

International career

After representing Estonia at youth level, Paalberg received his first senior call-up during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign in October 2025.[7] He made his senior international debut on 14 October 2025 in a 1–1 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova, coming on as a substitute at the age of 17 years and 5 days old.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 November 2025[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Estonian Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vaprus 2024 Meistriliiga 3022—52
2025 Meistriliiga 251510—2615
Career total 281532—3117

International

As of match played 18 November 2025[9]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Estonia 202530
Total 30

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Pärnu Vaprus lükkas välismaalase kõrvale. Tasuks uhke kompliment ja 16aastase Paalbergi koondisekutse" [Pärnu Vaprus rejected a foreigner. The reward was a proud compliment and a call-up to the national team for 16-year-old Paalberg] (in Estonian). Postimees. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Marten Paalberg at WorldFootball.net
  3. ↑ Ojassaar, Raul (2025-11-14). "Paalberg tulevikust: mitu suurt varianti on laual". Soccernet.ee (in Estonian).
  4. 1 2 "Marten-Chris Paalberg joins ASSE". Saint-Étienne. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Ojassaar, Raul (2026-02-03). "Harri Ojamaa Paalbergist: tema vastu tundsid huvi ka Premier League'i klubid" [Harri Ojamaa on Paalberg: Premier League clubs were also interested in him]. Soccernet.ee.
  6. ↑ "17-year-old Estonian footballer signs to Saint-Étienne for over €1 million". ERR. 2026-02-06.
  7. ↑ "A-koondises 17. sünnipäeva tähistav Paalberg: tahan Metsa ette võtta ja Heinale väravaid lüüa" [Paalberg, who is celebrating his 17th birthday in the A-team: I want to take on Mets and score goals for Heina] (in Estonian). Soccernet.ee. 5 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  8. ↑ Marten Paalberg at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Marten Paalberg". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "A. Le Coq Premium liiga kuu parimad kuuluvad augustikuu võidukalt läbinud Vaprusele" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "A. Le Coq Premium liiga septembrikuu parimad kuuluvad Vaprusele ja Kaljule" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
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