Obafemi Martins is a former Super Eagles striker and one of the finest the national team has been blessed with over the years.
Fondly called, “the weapon of mass destruction” or “obagoal” during his active days with the Super Eagles and the club sides he played for in Europe, Obafemi Martins was a handful for defenders.
Legendary defender Paulo Maldini reportedly often ask for the availability of Martins before the Milan derby during the latter’s time with Inter Milan.
Obafemi Martins wasn’t the tallest of strikers, but he combined sheer power and exquisite ability to shoot the ball to terrorize defenders.
He had a very successful career, and he is one of the richest Nigerian footballers to date, given the number of clubs he played for in Europe and beyond.
Obafemi Martins is fondly remembered for scoring the goal that qualified the Super Eagles for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
He scored a last-gasp goal as the Super Eagles beat Kenya 3-2 in Nairobi.
Obafemi Martins celebratory somersaults were used by UEFA to advertise the Champions League during his time at Inter Milan.
Although he had some issues with the Nigeria Football Federation during his time with the Super Eagles, he remains one of the team’s finest strikers in history.
Obafemi Martins is Super Eagles’ fifth all-time topscorer with 18 goals in 42 appearances.
This post traces Obafemi Martins’ background, career, achievements, net worth, family, and other endeavors after football.
Obafemi Martins Background
The former Super Eagles striker grew up in Lagos. Obadefemi Akinwunmi Martins was born on 28 October 1984 in Lagos which makes him 40 years old as of March 2025.
Information on his educational details are unknown but he started his career quite early which suggest that he was in high school when he left the county.
Obafemi Martins played football alongside his two brothers Oladipupo Martins and John Ronan Martins. Unfortunately, Oladipupo Martins retired in 2009 due to a heart condition and later died two years later on Lagos from a suspected heart attack.
Height
How tall is Obafemi Martins? The former striker has a diminutive stature. Obafemi Martins’ height is pegged at 5 inches and 7 ft tall.
Career
Obafemi Martins started his career at the age of 16. He played street football just like the average Nigerian footballer before he joined local football team F.C Ebedei having being scouted by football scout and manager of the club Churchill Oliseh.
Italian side Reggiana made am offer for Martins and his teammate Stephen Makinwa a year later and the duo went on to sign youth contracts at the club after success trials.
Martins exceptional talent attracted Perugia and Inter Milan and the later submitted an offer for him.
Obafemi Martins at Inter Milan
Inter Milan signed Obafemi Martins in the summer of 2021 for €750,000. The young striker immediately impressed for the youth team with 23 goals in his first season. His goals lead the youth team to win the 2001/2002 Campionato Nazionale Primavera.
Obafemi Martins signed a new contract with the club and became a regular with the senior team the following season.
Hèctor Cúper gave Obafemi Martins his UEFA Champions League debut as he came on against Newcastle. However, he scored his first goal against Victor Boniface’s Bayer Leverkusen as he helped Inter Milan progress to the quarter-finals.
Obafemi Martins scored against rivals AC Milan in the semi-finals buy his goal wasn’t enough as Inter crashed out on away goals.
In 2005, Martins committed his future to Inter Milan as signed a five-year contract worth €2.5 million annually.
Obafemi Martins scored six goals, including a hat trick against Bologna en route to Inter Milan’s Coppa Italia success. Brazilian striker Andriano bagged a brace in the final as Inter Milan beat Roma 3-0 on aggregate.
His time at Inter Milan was quite successful as won the Serie A, Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa Italiana.
Obafemi Martins scored 49 goals in 136 matches for the Nerazzurri. The arrival of Argentine striker Hernán Crespo on loan from Chelsea and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan limited the chances of Martins at the club.
He submitted a transfer request and Inter Milan sold him to Newcastle in August 2006 for €15 million.
Alan Shearer’s heir at Newcastle
Obafemi Martins inherited the famous number 9 shirt of legendary striker Alan Shearer when he arrived at Newcastle. The Premier League all-time topscorer has retired in April before Martins arrival.
The striker was paraded in front of the home fans before an UEFA Cup match against FK Ventspils at St. James’ Park.
Martins suffered a nasty injury on his Premier League debut as he was stretched off with an injury to his knee. It was later discovered that the striker had severe dead leg and internal bleeding.
However, Obafemi Martins came back strong and scored his first Premier League goal in Newcastle’s 2-0 win against Westham at Upton Park a month later.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V NEWCASTLE UNITED
Newcastles Obafemi Martens scores goal 2-2
Martins scored a spectacular goal in Newcastle 3-2 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. The rocket-like 20 yard strike was clocked by Sky Sports at a speed of 84 mph (135 km/h). According to the Guardian website, his strike was the ninth hardest shot ever taken.
Obafemi Martins has a decent debut season for Newcastle as he scored 17 goals in 46 matches
Unfortunately, his second at the club was unlike the first. Sam Allardyce, the new manager preferred Mark Viduka and Michael Owen over Obafemi Martins.
Nevertheless, Martins was used as an impact substitute. He scored six goals in 12 league matches in the first half of the season before an hamstring injury put him out of an action for a while.
Renowned specialist Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck conducted a successful operation on Martins in Germany and the striker made returmed to the team just before the end of the season.
Despite scoring in the relegation battle with Kelechi Iheanacho’s Middlesbrough, Newcastle relegated from the Premier League in May 2009.
He hinted his desire to stay at the club and help them return to the Premier League the following season but eventually joined VFL Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan and League Cup Success with Birmingham
Obafemi Martins joined Wolfsburg in August 2009 for £9m. His stint at the club was brief as he scored just 7 goals in 25 matches for the Bundesliga outfit.
He continues his football journey at Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan the following season. Obafemi Martins joined Rubin Kazan for €17 million on a three-year deal. He won the Russian Cup with the side in 2012 and scored 3 goals in 20 matches.
Martins requested a move to England in order to be with his new born child. The striker joined Birmingham City on loan in 2011 until the end of the season with an option to buy for £5 million.
Obafemi Martins led Birmingham City to the League Cup triumph that year with a 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Wembley Stadium.
Martins scored the winning goal after a defensive error between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny and French defender Laurent Koscielny as they attempted to clear a headed knock down from Serbian striker Nikola Žigić.
Martins went on to play for Levante, MLS Franchise Seatle Sundowns and Chinese Super League sides Shanghai Shenhua and Wuhall Zall during the later stages of his career.
His stint with Seatle Sundowns was quite successful as he bagged 43 goala in 83 matches for the club.
Martins scored 32 goals in 59 matches for Odion Ighalo’s former club Shanghai Shenshua.
Obafemi Martins scored 188 goals in 488 matches in his club career.
Super Eagles Stint
Obafemi Martins made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2004 during the Unity Cup competition in London at the age of 19. Martins scored his first goal for Nigeria in the 3-0 win over Ireland.
The Super Eagles went on to win the Cup after bearing Ireland 2-0 in the tri-nation tournament held at the Valley Stadium.
He was part of the Super Eagles squad that came third in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 where he scored twice against Senegal.
Martins had a couple of issues with the Nigeria Football Federation then known as Nigeria Football Association.
The striker threatened to quit the national team after the NFA made an administrative error on his date of birth which he claimed almost jeopardize his move to Newcastle in 2006.
Later on, the Nigeria Football Association admitted that it put his date of birth down as 1 May 1978 which made him 28 years old instead of 21. The football body apologized afterwards.
Former Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen threatened to ban Obafemi Martins from the team after he failed to turn up from a friendly match in 2007 which Nigeria lost 4-1 to Ghana in London.
He later apologized for his absence as he claimed that he had traveled to Lagos to see his sick mother.
Martins captained the Super Eagles for the first time for his 19th appearance against Australia in November 2007.
Obafemi Martins scored arguably his most important goal for the Super Eagles in a 3-2 win over Kenya in Nairobi which qualified Nigeria for the 2010 World Cup.
The striker only featured in two matches at the World Cup. Obafemi Martins came on came as a 52nd-minute substitute for striker Victor Obinna Nsofor.
In the final game against game against South Korea, he was used as a 57th-minute substitute for Nwankwo Kanu.
Style of Play
Obafemi Martins thrives on speed, shot power and his sheer strength. He is skillful and uses the aforementioned attributes to beat defenders easily. Martins is a direct striker not a false 9 or supporting striker. For what he lacked in height, Obafemi Martins made up for it with his tireless runs into the final third which makes it difficult for defenders to track him down.
Obafemi Martins net worth
The former Super Eagles striker is unarguably one of the richest Nigerian players. Obafemi Martins made a lot of money playing for Rubin Kazan, Seattle Sundowns and Shanghai Shenshua.
As of 2023, Obafemi Martins net worth is pegged at $30 million.
Martins is fund of showing off his wealth through luxury cars, yacht and housing estates.
Martins owns a couple of houses-mansions in choiced locations in the VGC area of Lagos State and Como in Italy with a combined worth of N1.3 billion.
Obafemi Martins cars and yacht
The last known car he bought is the Bentley Bentayga worth N71 million.
Among the cars Obafemi Martins owns includes a Lamborghini Aventador worth N162 million. He also owns a Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren which is worth around N250 million.
He owns also owns a Mercedes Benz G-Class worth about N106 million, as well as a Ferrari Spider worth about N110 million.
Obagoal also owns a 31 Expedition Luxury Yacht which costs over N166 Million, which he uses around Victoria Island in Lagos.
Obafemi Martins is a brand ambassador to popular betting brand Paripesa.
Children and wives
Obafemi Martins is currently married to Nadine Nifemi.
Nadine Nifemi Martins holds a MBA from Harvard University and managers the Martinshope Foundation in China. She’s also the founder of the international school in the country.
The former Super Eagles striker has a child his wife Abigail Barwuah. Abigail Barwuah is the sister to Italian footballer Mario Balotelli.
Martins and Abigail Barwuah have been together since 2012 and they have a son together named Kendrick.
Martins also has a child with another woman of African descent while playing in Italy. The boy’s name is Kevin and he featured in the youth team of Inter Milan before joining Monza in 2023.
He also has a son named Tyler.
Social media
Obafemi Martins is on Instagram with 565k followers. He posts his latest engagements and connects with fans on the platform.
Career Achievements
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2005–06
- Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2005
Newcastle United
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006
Birmingham City
- Football League Cup: 2010–11
Rubin Kazan
- Russian Cup: 2011–12
- Russian Super Cup: 2012
Seattle Sounders FC
- MLS Supporters’ Shield: 2014
- U.S. Open Cup: 2014
Shanghai Shenhua
- Chinese FA Cup: 2017
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2006
Individual
- CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2003, 2004
- MLS Best XI: 2014
- MLS Goal of the Year: 2014
- MLS All-Star: 2015
- Chinese FA Cup: Top Goalscorer: 2017
