10 Things to Know About Ana Maria Markovic, Croatia’s Rising Soccer Star Now Playing in New York City

Ana Maria Markovic has built a growing public profile that spans professional soccer, entrepreneurship and social media, drawing attention both for her play on the field and her life off it. Here are 10 things to know about the Croatian forward.

1. She’s a rising star for the Croatia national team. Markovic, born November 9, 1999, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, to Croat parents from Split, plays as a forward and has represented Croatia’s women’s national team on the international stage since 2021.
2. Her soccer journey started later than most. Markovic spent 10 years as a competitive gymnast before transitioning to soccer, a switch she has credited to her younger sister, who was already playing for FC Zurich at the time. She began playing organized football at age 13 with FC Schlieren before joining FC Zurich’s U21 squad at 15.
3. She rose quickly through Swiss women’s football. After her time in FC Zurich’s youth system, Markovic stepped into the Women’s Super League with GC Women, where she became known as something of a breakout talent in Swiss football circles, drawing coverage from outlets including 20 Minuten, which profiled her as a “GC Shootingstar.”
4. She overcame a serious knee injury. In a match against her former club FC Zurich on March 4, 2023, Markovic suffered a torn ACL along with additional ligament damage, a significant setback that required an extended recovery before she could return to competitive play.
5. She’s played professionally across three countries. Markovic’s club career has taken her from Switzerland to Portugal, where she played for Damaiense before her move was officially announced in February 2025, and most recently to the United States, where she has played for Brooklyn FC in New York City since 2025, embracing what she has described as a new chapter of growth on the global stage of women’s soccer.
6. She plays alongside her sister. Markovic is the sister of Kiki Markovic, who also signed with Brooklyn FC, with the club confirming the signing of both sisters in an August 2025 announcement, giving the pair the opportunity to compete together professionally in the United States.
7. She’s an entrepreneur as well as an athlete. In 2022, Markovic co-founded Reloadz, a startup focused on developing innovative beverage concepts for active lifestyles, including a vegan protein water product. She continues to promote the venture on her own website and social media channels alongside her soccer career.
8. She has a significant social media following. Markovic maintains an active online presence across platforms, with roughly 3 million followers on Instagram and around 1.4 million followers and 26.7 million likes on TikTok, where she shares content related to both her soccer career and her life based in New York City.
9. Her relationship has made headlines during major tournaments. Markovic is dating Portuguese soccer player Tomas Ribeiro, a defender for Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa. The couple drew attention during the 2026 World Cup when Markovic posted a lighthearted wager on Instagram ahead of Portugal’s Round of 16 match against Croatia, writing, “Someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight.” Ribeiro responded to the post, “Guess who’s gonna be?” Croatia went on to lose the match 2-1, meaning Markovic reportedly had the bed to herself that night.
10. She’s been described among the most recognizable faces in Croatian women’s soccer. Croatian outlets, including Vecernji.hr, have referred to Markovic as one of the more visually striking figures in the sport internationally, while other Croatian media have also highlighted her path from gymnastics and modeling into professional football and the Croatia national team setup, a background she has discussed in interviews tracing her unconventional route into the sport.

Markovic’s combination of on-field ability and off-field visibility has helped her build a following that extends well beyond traditional women’s soccer audiences, particularly following her move to the United States in 2025. As a member of Brooklyn FC, she now competes in one of the sport’s most closely watched emerging American markets, giving her continued exposure both domestically and internationally as women’s professional soccer continues to expand its audience in the U.S.

Her entrepreneurial work with Reloadz has also positioned her among a growing group of professional athletes building business ventures alongside their playing careers, a trend that has become increasingly common among top-tier soccer players looking to diversify their public profiles and income streams beyond traditional sponsorship deals.

Markovic’s injury recovery following her 2023 ACL tear also reflects a broader storyline common among elite women’s soccer players, many of whom have faced high rates of ACL injuries in recent years, a pattern that has drawn increased attention from sports medicine researchers and led to calls for further study into injury prevention specifically within women’s soccer.

As she continues her career with Brooklyn FC and the Croatia national team, Markovic’s profile appears likely to keep growing, both through her performances on the field and her continued visibility across social media platforms, where her personal life, including her relationship with Ribeiro, has increasingly become part of the broader public narrative surrounding her career. With her sister also on the Brooklyn FC roster and her business venture continuing to develop alongside her playing schedule, Markovic has built a multifaceted public presence that extends well beyond the traditional boundaries of a professional athlete’s career, positioning her as one of the more closely followed rising figures in international women’s soccer heading into the sport’s next major competitive cycles.