Laursen was capped 53 times and scored two goals for the Denmark national team from 2000 to 2008, and he was named 2008 Danish Football Player of the Year.

[2] After three seasons at Silkeborg, Laursen moved to Italy in August 1998, to play for Hellas Verona in the second-tier Serie B league.

[7] Laursen was plagued by a knee injury for the majority of his first season at Verona, where the club won promotion to the top-flight Serie A championship.

[9] Seeking a high-profile move, Parma made a successful bid of 9,000 million Italian lire (€4,648,112)[10] to sign half of the registration rights of Laursen in June 2000,[11] in a deal including Parma-owned player Anthony Šerić remaining at Verona on loan.

[18] In the summer 2002, Milan bought Italian international defender Alessandro Nesta, and Laursen's playing time diminished to a combined 20 league games in the next two seasons.

[20] Due to the presence of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta,[8] Laursen failed to establish himself in Milan's first team in the long run.

[22] On 21 May 2004, Laursen was bought by FA Premier League side Aston Villa for a fee of £3 million,[23] on a four-year contract.

[3] After a re-occurrence of the knee injury during the summer 2006 off-season, his playing future at club and international level was seen to be in doubt.

[4] This included three goals against Tottenham Hotspur, two of which came in a thrilling 4–4 draw at White Hart Lane, the other coming in a 2–1 home victory.

[4] On 23 October 2008, Laursen gave Aston Villa the lead in the UEFA Cup game against Ajax with a header from close-range.

[23] In April 2009, O'Neill expressed his fears that Laursen's career might be over due to the injuries which, even if treated, would require ten months of reconvalescence.

Prior to kick-off, Laursen appeared in front of the Villa Park crowd and gave a speech where he thanked the fans and wish them well for the future.

[5] Laursen made his debut for the senior Denmark national team in a friendly match against Portugal in March 2000.

Laursen's breakthrough with the national team came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, when he played full-time in all four Denmark games before elimination.

[5] In January 2009, Laursen announced his retirement from international football, as he found it physically straining to play for both club and country.

In September 2011, Martin Laursen took the job as head coach of Søllerød-Vedbæk in the Danish 2nd Divisions in order to start a managing career.