Martijn Kaars (born 5 March 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for club FC St. Pauli.
Kaars began his career with VV Monnickendam before joining the youth academies of Volendam and Ajax. He returned to Volendam in 2018 to make his senior debut in the Eerste Divisie, and moved to Helmond Sport in 2022, where he became a regular goalscorer.
In 2024, he transferred to 1. FC Magdeburg for a reported â¬800,000, the highest fee received by Helmond Sport, and finished his first season as the 2. Bundesliga's second-highest scorer with 19 goals. He joined FC St. Pauli the following year.
Having previously played for his local team VV Monnickendam, Kaars moved to FC Volendam at the age of eleven. He played for four years in the youth teams of the club, before being scouted by the famed Ajax academy. He progressed through the youth teams, and reached Jong Ajax but did not make an appearance for that team.
In June 2018, Kaars returned to Volendam as his contract with Jong Ajax expired. He made his Eerste Divisie debut for Volendam on 17 August 2018 in a game against Den Bosch, as an 80th-minute substitute for Nick Doodeman. He scored his first goal on 25 September 2018 in a 2âÂÂ1 loss in the KNVB Cup against Willem II. His first league goal followed three days later, as he secured the 2âÂÂ2 draw in an away match against Helmond Sport after an assist by Teije ten Den.
On 7 April 2022, Helmond Sport announced the signing of Kaars on a three-year contract, with him joining the club from the 2022âÂÂ23 season. He made his competitive debut for the club on the first matchday of the season, playing the full game against NAC Breda which was lost 1âÂÂ0. His first goal came in the following match against Jong AZ on 12 August, where he made the equaliser as Helmond suffered a 3âÂÂ1 home defeat at De Braak. On 2 September, Kaars scored a brace in a 3âÂÂ0 victory against Almere City.
On 17 June 2024, Kaars joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Magdeburg for a reported fee of around â¬800,000, a sum that made him the most expensive departure in Helmond Sport's history. He made his competitive debut on 3 August 2024, starting in a 0âÂÂ0 home draw with SV Elversberg. A week later he scored his first goals for the club, a brace in a 3âÂÂ1 win away to Eintracht Braunschweig. He registered his first DFB-Pokal goal on 19 August 2024, equalising in a 2âÂÂ1 first-round defeat at Kickers Offenbach. After the winter break he scored a hat-trick in a 5âÂÂ2 victory at Elversberg on 19 January 2025, before hitting four goals in a 5âÂÂ2 win away to FC Schalke 04 on 1 February 2025. In his first season with the club, he scored 19 goals in the league and provided six assists, finishing as the second-highest goalscorer in the competition behind Davie Selke.
On 28 August 2025, Kaars signed for Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli on undisclosed terms. The transfer quickly became a media focal point when an e-mail detailing the offer was inadvertently photographed from the laptop of 1. FC Magdeburg's sporting director and leaked online; Magdeburg subsequently filed a criminal complaint in response.
He made his debut the following day in the Hamburg derby, replacing Andréas Hountondji in the 69th minute of a 2âÂÂ0 away win over Hamburger SV at the Volksparkstadion. On 2 December 2025, he scored his first goal for die Kiezkicker, also providing an assist, in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal. Eleven days later, he scored his first goals in the Bundesliga, netting twice in a 2âÂÂ1 home win against 1. FC Heidenheim.
Jong Volendam