Obafemi Martins: Profile, Age, Salary, Net Worth, Girlfriend/Spouse, House, Cars, Pictures, Latest News, Transfer News

Ex-Super Eagles star Obafemi Martins is one of the all-time highest goalscorers in the Nigeria national team.

Obafemi Martins background

Obafemi Martins commonly known as ‘Obagoal’ is 38-year-old a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

 He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-division clubs around Europe. 

In club football, Martins has won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup (twice), and the Italian Super Cup, all with Inter. 

 He has played European football with Inter, Newcastle and Wolfsburg, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Newcastle. 

In international football, Martins has been in the Nigerian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and for the FIFA World Cup in 2010.

Obafemi Martins Profile

Full name: Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins

Birth date: October 28, 1984

Nationality: Nigerian

Place of birth: Lagos, Nigeria

Age: 38 years old (as of April 2023)

Current club: Retired 

Height: 5 ft 7 in

Marital status: Married to Abigail Barwuah

Position: Striker 

Salary: Self-employed

Net worth: $25 Million

Instagram: @obagoal

How old is Obafemi Martins? Obafemi Martins Age

Obafemi Martins is 38 years old as of April 2023.

Obafemi Martins Career

Martins joined the local football club F.C. Ebedei, having been scouted by manager Churchill Oliseh while playing on the streets of his hometown.

 After a year with the club, Serie C side A.C. Reggiana made a move for the player.

 After a successful three-month trial, Martins and fellow Ebedei teammate Stephen Makinwa signed youth contracts with the club in 2000.

 His first season in Italy saw Martins break into the first team squad, and later in the year Serie A sides Perugia and Inter Milan made offers for the forward.

Martins was signed by Inter Milan in 2001 for a €750,000 transfer fee, and in his first season he scored 23 goals for the youth team, helping them to win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera in 2001–02 season.

 His form for the youth side led to his first-team league debut the following season, starting in a match against Parma on 22 December 2002 which was won by Inter 2–1.

Martins didn't become a regular member of the first-team squad until the 2002–03 season. 

During this season he was given his first UEFA Champions League appearance by manager Héctor Cúper, entering as a substitute against his future employers, Newcastle United, at St James' Park. 

He scored his first Champions League goal in a match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen to secure Inter's place in the quarter finals.

Footage of his celebratory somersaults were subsequently used by UEFA to advertise the following season's competition.

 He scored again in the semi-final match against Inter's arch-rivals Milan, but couldn't prevent the club losing out on away goals to the competition's eventual winners.

In the championship, he scored once in four appearances.

Martins signed a long-term contract with Inter Milan in 2005 which ran until 2010 and was worth around €2.5 million annually.

Having scored in the 3–1 win at Anderlecht in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League group stage, Martins become the first ever teenager to score in three consecutive Champions League seasons. 

He was also protagonist in team's successful run in Coppa Italia, scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against Bologna, as the tournament ended in a triumph for Inter.

 Martins amassed 22 goals in 45 matches across all competitions, setting a new personal best; his good form for Inter earned him a spot in Nigeria's 2006 Africa Cup of Nations squad.

Although he had some success with Inter, scoring 28 goals for the club in 88 league games as well as 11 goals in European competitions, the arrivals of Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo who was brought in on loan from Chelsea and then the Swedis striker Zlatan Ibrahimović who was bought from Juventus, saw the club sell him in August 2006.

After Martins submitted a transfer request, Premier League club Newcastle United completed a deal with Inter for the striker on 24 August 2006 for €15 million on a five-year deal.

Martins made his Premier League debut on 27 August, in the 2–0 defeat to Aston Villa, in which he was stretchered off with a knee injury.

 It turned out that Martins suffered a severe dead leg and internal bleeding. 

His unremarkable first few appearances for Newcastle caused manager Glenn Roeder to speak out in his defence.

However, on 17 September, Martins scored his first goal for Newcastle and from there his goalscoring form began to improve steadily.

Reports in January 2007 suggested that Chelsea were considering making an offer for Martins' services after his impressive form. 

These reports were later rubbished by Martins himself who re-affirmed his commitment to the Magpies.

On 14 January, in a 2–3 away win against Tottenham Hotspur, Martins' 20-yard shot rocketed into the net. 

This strike was clocked by Sky Sports at a speed of 84 mph (135 km/h), making it unofficially the ninth hardest shot ever recorded in football according to the Guardian website.

This was his tenth goal for Newcastle. 

Martins ended his first season on Tyneside with 17 goals in 46 games.

During his three-year spell on Tyneside, Martins amassed 35 goals in all competitions from 104 games.

On 29 July 2009, Newcastle accepted a £9 million bid from Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg, the transfer was confirmed on 31 July with Martins signing a four-year contract.

Martins’ stint at Wolfsburg was brief however, as he scored six times in 16 appearances for the Bavarians.

On 9 July 2010, Martins was sold for a reported €17 million to reigning Russian Premier League champions Rubin Kazan, on a three-year contract.

On 9 May 2012, Rubin Kazan won the Russian Cup giving Martins his first trophy in Russia.

He scored 3 goals in 20 appearances for the Russian side.

Martins would go on to play for clubs like Levante, with whom he scored 7 goals in 21 appearances, MLS franchise club Seattle Sounders, where he scored 40 goals in 72 appearances, Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua where he scored 19 goals in 44 appearances.

On 20 September 2020, after his Shanghai Shenhua contract was terminated, Martins joined Chinese Super League club Wuhan Zall on a short-term deal until the end of the season, and that was his last known club as a professional footballer.

Martins made his debut for Nigeria in 2004 at the age of 19 in the 2004 Unity Cup scoring the second goal, in the tri-nations Unity Cup tournament in London.

He was a part of the Nigerian team that finished third in the 2006 African Cup of Nations. 

Martins scored two goals in the competition, both coming against Senegal in the first round.

His future for the national team was placed in doubt on numerous occasions after separate incidents of controversy. 

In August 2006, the Nigerian FA (NFA) website had his date of birth down as 1 May 1978, which would have made him 28 years of age rather than 21.

 The NFA soon confirmed that it had been an administrative error and apologised for the confusion it had caused.

 However Martins threatened to quit playing for the national team after the blunder had initially put his move to Newcastle in doubt.

On 6 February 2007, Martins failed to turn up for the 4–1 friendly defeat against Ghana, despite being ordered to play. 

He later explained his absence was due to the fact he had travelled to Lagos to visit his sick mother.

The then-Nigerian caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen was furious with Martins and threatened to ban him from the national team.

On 14 February 2007, Martins apologised for missing the game but said he believed his mother's health was more important. 

He also said that he would be available to play for Nigeria in the future.

 He made his return to the national side on 24 March 2007, playing the full match against Uganda in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match and won.

On 17 November 2007, Martins captained Nigeria for the first time, in a friendly match against Australia for his 19th appearance. 

On 12 November 2009 he scored a spectacular goal in the 83rd minute against Kenya in Nairobi, thus ensuring Nigeria's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

At the finals in South Africa, Martins played in just two games for a total of 71 minutes, without scoring and has not appeared for Nigeria since that tournament.

Martins scored 18 goals in 48 appearances for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, making him the 5th highest goalscorer in the history of the Nigeria national team from 2004 to 2015.

Obafemi Martins Market Value

Obafemi Martins is retired as has no active market value.

However, his last-known market value was €350k, when he was at Shanghai Shenhua as per figures via Transfermrkt.

His highest market value is €16 million when he was at Newcastle United in 2007.

Obafemi Martins Net Worth 2023

As of April 2023, Obafemi Martins currently boasts an estimated net worth of $25 million as per Celebrity Net Worth.

Obafemi Martins is certainly one of the richest Nigerian footballers in 2023.

Obagoal is also known to show off flashy cars and does not hold back while lavishing his fortune.

Martins reportedly invested in a yacht costing over N170 million, and also owns a fleet of luxury cars and houses in expensive neighbourhoods.

Throughout his career, Martins has been able to command significant wages due thanks to his goalscoring talents.

While he played for Seattle Sounders FC from 2013 to 2015, his base salaries were $1,600,000; $1,620,000; $2,400,000, consecutively for the three years. 

At this time, he was the highest-ever paid player for Seattle Sounders and was the fifth highest-paid player in US major league soccer.

His annual salary at the Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua was $6.6 million (N2.4 billion).

How does Obafemi Martins spend his money?

Obafemi Martins invests in exotic automobiles as well as real estate and seems to be enjoying retirement just fine.

Obafemi Martins Cars

Among the cars owned by Martins include a Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren which is worth around N250 million.

This car is by far his most expensive mechanical automobile. 

He also owns a Lamborghini Aventador worth N162 million.

This car reportedly cost him about N162 million and is the second most expensive machine in his garage.

Martins also owns Mercedes Benz G-Class  worth N106 million, as well as a Ferrari Spider estimated to be worth around N110 million.

Obafemi Martins also has an Iguana 31 Expedition Luxury Yacht which costs over N166 Million, which he currently uses till date to relax and move around on Victoria Island.

Obagoal also owns a Bentley Bentayga worth at least N71 million

The Bentley is the last known car acquired by the former striker.

Obafemi Martins Houses

Obafemi Martins is reportedly the owner of two expensive mansions both in Nigeria and overseas. 

He owns an exotic mansion in VGC Lagos, Nigeria which is worth at least N500 million. 

He also reportedly owns another multi-million dollar mansion in Como, Italy which costs about N800 million.

Obafemi Martins wife

Who is Obafemi Martins' wife? Obafemi Martins is currently married to Nadine Nifemi.

Nadine has been running the education and sports departments of Obafemi Martins Foundation in the last few years in China and she is also the founder of the international school in China which will be expanding throughout Asia and soon coming to Africa.

 Obafemi Martins is also married to Abigail Barwuah, who is of Ghanaian and Italian descent. 

Abigail is the sister of Italian footballer Mario Balotelli.

Since 2012, when the footballer first fell in love with the actress, they have been together as a couple.

 They are the proud parents of a single child, a boy named Kendrick, who was born on October 16th. 

There are also two more children belonging to Obagoal. 

When Obafemi Martins was playing in Italy, he had a relationship with an African girl, and in 2006, that girl gave birth to a son who was later given the name Itunuoluwa, also known as Kevin.

 He also has a second son who goes by the name of Tyler.

Obafemi Martins Social Media

Obagoal mainly posts about his lifestyle, family, and work outs on social media.

His official Instagram account @obagoal and he currently has over 577,000 followers.

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