After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his professional career at Lyon, before transferring to Monaco in 2013 for a fee of €6 million.

Born in Massy, Essonne, Martial spent his youth years with Paris-based Les Ulis from 2001,[8] the same team who produced French internationals Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra.

He made his professional debut for Lyon on 6 December 2012, in a Europa League group stage match against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona, replacing goalscorer Yassine Benzia for the final 10 minutes of a 2–0 victory at the Stade de Gerland.

[12][13] On 24 November, he made his first league appearance for the club at the age of 17, replacing Radamel Falcao after 63 minutes and playing a part in Mounir Obbadi's goal which gave victory away to Nantes.

[16] In his second season at Monaco, Martial scored nine goals in 36 Ligue 1 games, starting on 5 October 2014 when as a substitute for Lucas Ocampos, he gained a 1–1 draw at reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain with a last-minute strike from close range.

[19] On 4 August 2015, Martial scored his first goal in European competition, in a 4–0 home win over Young Boys in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League; Monaco advanced 7–1 on aggregate.

[23] The clauses each related to certain accomplishments being achieved in the four years after the transfer, including if Martial scored 25 goals during that span, racked up 25 caps for France or won the Ballon d'Or before June 2019.

[22] Martial made his debut in the North-West Derby at Old Trafford on 12 September as a 65th-minute substitute for Juan Mata, and scored the final goal of a 3–1 win over Liverpool.

[28] On 23 September, again as a replacement for Mata, Martial scored his fourth goal in four games for his new club, concluding a 3–0 win over Ipswich Town in the third round of the League Cup.

[30] Martial won his first individual honour at United as he picked up the 'PFA Fan's Player of the Month' for September, in which he notched up three goals from two matches.

[33][34] On 21 October, in a Champions League group stage match away to CSKA Moscow, Martial gave away a penalty – which David de Gea saved from Roman Eremenko – and later equalised to confirm a 1–1 draw.

[36] Martial was key in a 2–1 win against Everton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 23 April 2016: he assisted the first goal by Marouane Fellaini and scored an added-time winner.

[38] The forward, however, lost his place in the starting line-up after several underwhelming performances, with the club tentatively attributing Martial's difficulties to ongoing problems in his personal life.

[40] On 30 November 2016, Martial was recalled to the side to face West Ham in the EFL Cup after receiving warnings about his starting spot in previous weeks from manager José Mourinho,[41] he responded by scoring two goals in a 4–1 win to send United into the semi-final of the competition.

[42] Being in and out of the team for a couple of months, Martial was rumoured to leave Manchester United in the summer, but on 6 February he made it clear on his Twitter account, tweeting: "the paper's are wrong don't listen to them".

[43] Martial returned to the starting line-up against Watford at Old Trafford on 11 February by providing an assist to Juan Mata and later scoring a goal for himself in the 60th minute, he was later declared the man of the match.

[55] However, two weeks prior saw Martial start in Manchester United's Champions League opener and score his first goal of the season in a 3–0 win against Young Boys.

[65][66] Martial also played the full 90 minutes against Champions League opponents Young Boys, which United won 1–0, securing their place in the knockout stage.

[67] After missing United's tie with Southampton, Martial played in the club's home game against Arsenal in which he scored his eighth goal of the season with the match ending in a 2–2 draw.

[80] On 4 October 2020, Martial received the first red card of his career for hitting out at Erik Lamela during United's 1–6 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and was later banned for three domestic games.

[94] He netted once in a group stage exit at the final tournament in Slovenia, a 2–2 opening game draw with Iceland at the Domžale Sports Park.

[98] He made his debut in the former on 4 September at Lisbon's Estádio José Alvalade, replacing Karim Benzema for the final 16 minutes of a 1–0 win.

[99] On 11 October, Martial made his first start for Les Bleus in a 2–1 win against Denmark at Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, and assisted the opening goal by Olivier Giroud.

[9] According to journalist Philippe Auclair, Martial plays in a style similar to former French international Thierry Henry, with speed and technical ability both in wide positions and up front.

[103] In the aftermath of France's 2–1 win over Denmark in October 2015, Fenerbahçe defender Simon Kjær was reportedly stunned after playing against him to learn that Martial was just 19.

[105] Martial, for his part, has said that he prefers to play up front, but that "if the coach puts me on the wing then that means it is better for the team and for me that is the most important thing.

"[106] In 2019, Christopher Simpson of Bleacher Report noted that Martial "...has pace to burn and the dribbling skills to accompany it, making him very difficult to defend against, and he's a composed finisher in front of goal too.