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Socceroo Boyle honoured for Hibs service with lucrative 'testimonial year'

Martin Boyle celebrating a goal for Hibernian in May.
Martin Boyle celebrating a goal for Hibernian in May.IAN MACNICOL / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

41-time Socceroo Martin Boyle will be honoured for his decade-long service to Scottish Premiership club Hibernian with a series of events throughout the 2026/27 season, which could earn him a six-figure sum.

The Aberdeen-born dual international joined Hibs on loan from Dundee United in 2014/15, during their three-season stay in the second division Scottish Championship, helping lift them back into Scotland's top-tier with eight goals in their promotion season. 

Boyle has made 420 competitive appearances for Hibs across an 11-year period, scoring 114 goals and enjoying early success at the club when they won their first Scottish Cup in more than a century back in 2016.

He remains the only member of that squad still at the club, scoring a first-half League Cup semi-final hat-trick against Rangers in 2021 before wearing the captain's armband 63 times as deputy.

Qualifying for the Australian national team through his Sydney-born father, Boyle made his Socceroos debut in 2018 and was in serious contention for the 2022 FIFA World Cup before a serious knee injury forced him to miss the tournament. 

He scored ten goals for Australia, including two at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup when his side reached the quarter-finals. 

This is almost certain to be Boyle's final season at the club, having signed a surprise one-year contract extension in the 2026 off-season after then-head coach David Gray announced to fans that the 2025/26 season was to be Boyle's last. 

His contract extension was met with unanimous and enthusiastic approval amongst the Leith fanbase, illustrated by the online reaction seen on the club's social media posts.

Boyle is a much beloved member of the Hibernian community as the club's tenth-top all-time goalscorer, as is his wife Rachael Boyle, who plays both for Hibs and the Scottish national team as a midfielder. 

Hibs have opted to honour his long service with a series of events throughout the season to raise a potential six-figure sum for Boyle's family and his partner charity, Scotland's Hanlon Stevenson Foundation. 

One-off testimonial matches are common in the United Kingdom as a way of thanking long-serving retiring players and assisting them financially with their post-playing transition, but 'testimonial seasons' are an honour reserved only for a select few.

Martin Boyle Career Numbers
Martin Boyle Career NumbersFlashscore

Graeme Cadger, who has been appointed to head the testimonial committee, hailed both Martin and Rachael as "Hibs legends in their own rights".

"He was obviously part of a group who provided many of us with one of the best days of our lives at Hampden Park in 2016," Cadger added.

"But that only tells half of the story, and Martin grew up at the club. He's endured highs and lows, not least through some serious injuries. His resilience to bounce back from those has never been in doubt, and it says a lot about his character.

"It's been a pleasure to watch him develop in front of our eyes as a supporter."

Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn. 

Aaron Murphy
Aaron MurphyFlashscore
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