Brooklyn FC in the recently established USL Gainbridge Super League have announced the signing of Croatian forward Ana Maria Markovic.

The 25-year-old, often hailed as the ‘world’s most beautiful footballer’ by admirers and media alike, has finalized a deal with a club participating in its second season in the premier division of U.S. women’s soccer, shared by the USL Super League and the well-established NWSL.

Brooklyn announced the signing of Ana Maria as well as her sister, Kiki, prior to the start of the season.

‘Sharing this experience with my sister makes it even more special, and we’re both here to make an impact on the field.’

Raised in Switzerland but born in Split, Markovic built her early career playing for FC Zürich and Grasshoppers before transferring to the Portuguese team SC Braga.

Croatian forward Ana Maria Markovic has signed for USL Super League side Brooklyn FC

Ana and her sister Kiki signed for the club competing in its second season of existence

Markovic, who has 2.9million Instagram followers has now joined the fifth club of her career

However, after signing for the club in August of 2024, she left the club this past February.

Markovic’s move to Braga helped her move closer to her partner, Portuguese footballer Tomas Ribiero. 

However, after being transferred from Vitoria Guimaraes, situated about 25 km from Braga, to the southern club Farense, she bid farewell in a TikTok video.

In that video, she wrote ‘Sometimes I just hate football’. The following week, Braga and Markovic mutually agreed to terminate her contract.

‘SC Braga announces that the Club and Ana Maria Marković have mutually agreed to terminate the contract that connected both parties,’ stated a club release.

‘The Croatian international played four games for the Gverreiras do Minho in her debut season in Portuguese football.

‘SC Braga expresses gratitude for your dedication, commitment, and professionalism during your time with the Club and wishes you success in your future endeavors, both professionally and personally,’ the statement continued.

Markovic has since followed up with a message thanking her team-mates and fans for their support, while teasing a future move. 

On Instagram, she reflected, ‘Sometimes plans change. After a mere half-season, I opted to part ways with SC Braga. It was a brief yet intense experience filled with challenges and triumphs, allowing me to grow and enhance my skills as a footballer.’

Markovic later completed a move to SF Damaiense in Amadora, near Lisbon, but it’s unclear if she played any matches for the club. 

The forward has made 25 appearances for the Croatian national team to date, scoring twice

Markovic previously declared that she sometimes ‘hate[s] football’ after her partner, Portuguese defender Tomas Ribeiro, was transferred further south from her club 

She has previously spoken out in an interview against being labelled as ‘sexy’ by football fans

In Brooklyn’s debut match against Tampa Bay Sun FC, she came on the pitch as a substitute for opening goalscorer Catherine Zimmerman to be part of a 2-1 victory.

Markovic has received 25 caps for the Croatian national team, having most recently made an appearance in a 2-1 loss to Albania in the 2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League. She has a pair of international goals, having last scored against Kosovo in June 2024. 

In a 2022 interview with Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten, Markovic claimed that female players are discriminated against on social media far more than their male counterparts, and are often the butt of sexist comments and jokes.

‘What makes the difference between men and women is, for example, when I show myself in a bikini on social media or when Erling Haaland [shows himself] in his swimming trunks.

‘Erling almost certainly doesn’t get the same sexist comments.

‘We women are good at standing up for each other, but what I wish for is that men start standing up for us too.

‘Men always talk about ”men of honour”, but it would be really honourable if they stood behind us in such situations.’

Markovic added that her goal is to advocate equality and ‘be a role model for young footballers’ – previously hitting out at sleazy social media comments and being labelled as ‘sexy’.