In the world of sports, we can find some big names and celebrities that are widely known all around the world.
Their skills and talents are something that makes us sit next to our screens and watch hours of sports, cheering with our whole hearts.
In today’s text we are going to talk to one such athlete, and that is Nigerian football player Obafemi Martins.
We will touch on the subject of his net worth, biography and career path, so stick with us if you want to find out more about this talented athlete.
Early years
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins was born on October 28th 1984 in Lagos in Nigeria.
Born in Lagos, Martins grew up in football at a local club, the ‘Ebedei, who joined at the age of 13. Obafemi had been discovered by ‘coach Churchill Oliseh (brother of former player Reggiana Sunday Oliseh) This after seeing him play on the street decided to leave him in the team.
After a year with the ‘Ebedei la Reggiana’ he seemed immediately interested in the player and therefore decided to launch a public offer to put it in Italy. After a two-month audition, Martins moved to the Reggio Emilia club, with teammate Stephen Makinwa.
In 2001, it was bought by Inter, who won – at the youth level – the Viareggio Tournament and Spring Championship of the 2001-02 season. 22 December, beginning of 2002, in entry, in series A against parma. He scored the first goal in the high flight against ‘Atalanta, in addition to registering two Champions League marks.
He also went on the net against ‘arsenal, the next tournament, as well as scoring two goals in the UEFA Cup.
There isn’t any more information about his early life and personal life, so we are going to continue talking about his career path and how he became as successful as he is now.
Career path
Alhaja Monsurat Martins, the mother who was tied up, died on July 25, 2008, after a gasoline tanker caught fire near her Lagos apartment. This stravolous kicker preparation that skipped the withdrawal from Newcastle to Mallorca, slowed much preparation for the 2008-2009 Premier League.
You usually celebrate his achievements to make changes in the style of artistic gymnastics: after a full race-up, the player performs a “rondata” some “FLIC” (amount backwards using the hands) to the Time to conclude with tumbled back forever.
Striker physically brevilineo, with an impressive shooting flash, managed to make 100 meters in 10 “94. Because of his strength in the legs can give a blow very often in the power of shooting. His favorite is the left foot.
He contributed to the victory of the Italian Cup in 2004-05, he directed 6 networks. In Inter, he was also the protagonist of a yellow age, as the Nigerian federation attributed him to – wrongly – 27 years instead of 20. Last season in Milan, 2005-06, saw repeated triumph in the Nations Cup, as well as winning the Scudetto (office assigned to Inter). With the Lombard formation, he scored 3 times in derby citizens and 2 those with Juventus.
August 24, 2006, with the arrival of strikers like Crespo Hernán and Zlatan Ibrahimović It was sold pure and simple to English club Newcastle for 16 million euros. with option of first refusal from ‘Inter in case of future return.
He was officially introduced with the Newcastle jersey just before the UEFA Cup game against Ventspils. In England he received the number 9 jersey, inherited from the best scorer club Alan Shearer just retired.
After a difficult start due to a knee injury in the first race, Martins began scoring regularly gaining a starting point and coach Glenn Roeder’s review.
July 31, 2009, is bought pure and simple Wolfsburg for a figure of about 10.5 million euros, with the German club signing a value of 3.5 million per season four-year contract. At the end of the season, he made six goals in 16 league games. July 10, 2010, only after a year, is sold outright to Rubin Kazan, Russia champion club.
After 12 appearances and 2 goals scored, the 30 January 2011 continues ready until the end of the Birmingham season. February 19 marks the start FA Cup 3-0 trimmed in the Sheffield Wednesday.
On February 27, built the network that allows his team to beat Learsenal and win Carling Cup, second title in the history of the English club, 48 years after the first. On April 29, after just four league games, he will finish his season with a stress fracture in his leg.
At the end of the season, he returned to Rubin Kazan by the end of the loan. He scored his first goal of the season on September 15, 2011 Europa League 0-3 in the external Shamrock Rovers. In the second leg played on November 30 and won by 4-1 scored the fourth goal after 62 minutes of scoring in the league on April 1, 2012 achieving the decisive goal of the match won 1-0 against ‘Anzhi.
On September 14, 2012 Levante announced an agreement with the player with a two-year contract with an option for a third. debut against Mark Real Sociedad decide the match ended 2-1 for the Levante. He also scored the winning goal against Valencia, where the match will end 1-0. March 11, 2013 resolved the contract that bound him to Levante pay article 3 million euros.
March 16, 2013 passes outright Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer team. After a few months to settle, the player begins to score the outcome of his first American season with a decent term of eight goals in the league (in 20 appearances).
However, the following season, Martins is the protagonist and the 17 goals and 13 assists (in the league) earned him the nomination in the MLS MVP 2014 and renew the contract for 2 years.
On February 18, 2016 was bought by Shanghai Shenhua for the equivalent of 2.7 million of his euro. Nella China adventure, however, he is not considered an owner and only play a few minutes of the game, managing to score the first goal after only 8 appearances, in the win against Guangzhou RF, after a minute of his entry into the field. Little by little, unable to find continuity.
He made his Super Eagles debut May 29, 2004 in a friendly match played in London against ‘Ireland, scoring one of three networks that allow Nigeria to win the match.
On August 4, 2005, the website of the Nigerian federation incorrectly dated the birth date, and traced on May 1, 1978 the creation of a case of age falsification, then denied by the NFA.
The first episode causes the athlete to decide to terminate his relationship with the national authorities, which decision is then returned following an apology by the Federation itself.
He participated in the 2006 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt. After scoring twice against Senegal in the group stage, she scores one of six rigs made from eleven meters of super Eagles against Tunisia, allowing the team to enter the semi-final, then lost to Côte-d’Ivoire.
On November 14, 2009 mark – to replace, the result of 1-0 for the guests – twice against Kenya, allowing Companions to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He made his debut in the competition June 12, 2010, against ‘Argentine, replacing Obinna in the second half.
Complicating disagreements with some teammates, December 4, 2014 announced his retirement from international football. On October 29, 2015, CT Sunday Oliseh attracts National, considering the dual commitment with Swaziland.
In March 2018, he had an injury that prevented him from continuing on his participation in Shanghai Shenhua. Martins has a net worth that is estimated at around 35$ million. Most of his net worth comes from his football engagements and contracts.
Since Martins is still an active football player, we can expect his net worth to become even higher in the following period. He often shares photos and videos on his social media, where we can see his cars, home and how well he is actually living.
Personal life
Obafemi grew up in Nigeria, but he became a US citizen, and as we can see on his social media, he has completely blended into the US way of life.
He is currently living in USA and continues to be active and is still a football player.
Based on his net worth, we can assume that he is doing quite well and his life has certainly changed drastically in comparison to his past.
Martins became a US citizen in 2015, so he was able to play as a domestic player. Martins is married to his wife Abigail Baruwah and his sister’s name is Mario Balotelli.
Their son Kendrick was born in 2013, and the couple seems to be living happily.
Quick summary
Full name: Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins
Date of birth: October 28th 1984
Birthplace: Lagos, Nigeria
Age: 35
Profession: Professional football player
Height: 1.70 m
Weight: 88 kg
Net Worth: 35$ million