The Life of Obafemi Martins: how does Nigeria's richest footballer live?

Seasoned football fans have likely heard the name Obafemi Martins at some point.

Obafemi was born on October 28, 1984, in Lagos, Nigeria. Like many future renowned footballers from Africa, his rise to fame began on the streets.

At a young age, Martins transitioned from a local club to Serie C, and from there, he joined Inter’s academy in 2001. That’s where his brief but shining career took off.

He made his debut for Inter’s senior team straight in the Champions League in 2003, scoring his first goal against Bayer Leverkusen. His acrobatic flip celebration became so iconic that UEFA used it in their tournament advertising. Obafemi started gaining recognition, and Martins continued scoring.

In 2005, he signed a contract with Inter, valid until 2010, with a salary of €2.5 million. However, in 2006, he was sold to Newcastle due to a dip in form.

Although no longer considered a superstar in the Premier League, he replicated his statistics at Newcastle, similar to his time at Inter: 88 matches and 28 goals.

After Newcastle, Martins moved to Wolfsburg, where he didn’t find success. Then came a strange transfer to Rubin Kazan, followed by stints at Birmingham, Levante, Seattle, and several Chinese clubs, where he mainly played for hefty wages.

Regarding his international career, he was called up from 2004 to 2015, playing 42 matches and scoring 18 goals. One of his most memorable contributions was scoring in the 83rd minute against Kenya, sending Nigeria to the World Cup. However, his World Cup campaign wasn’t particularly successful.

Now that we’ve covered Martins’ career highlights, let's move on to the most intriguing part. Obafemi is considered the richest footballer in Nigerian history. His net worth was estimated at $30 million before he faced significant financial losses.

Martins’ troubles began in 2019 when he moved to Shanghai Shenhua. After just four matches, his contract was terminated. A similar situation unfolded with Wuhan Zall, leading to his early retirement. But there’s more to the story.

In 2019, Martins sold three of his four homes in the prestigious Victoria Garden City area in Nigeria. He also planned to sell his yacht, valued at over 400 million naira (Nigerian currency).

The footballer had fallen out with many close friends, some of whom he had grown up with in the same neighborhood, and had distanced himself from his family.

His foundation, which had been actively engaged in charitable purchases, ceased operations from 2019 to 2021. In 2018, he spent a significant sum on renting a club but never opened it. Simply put, things were not going well.

However, Martins eventually turned things around. The former player made a strategic shift into the business world. To equip himself with the necessary skills and knowledge, he enrolled in the online course “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies,” offered by HarvardX, a subsidiary of Harvard University.

In 2023, his club finally opened and has been operating successfully ever since. The club, Cosa Nostra Patron, is a nightclub located on Victoria Island in Lagos.

He co-owns the club with his wife, Nadine Obafemi. Rumors of their relationship and engagement surfaced in 2021, and together they weathered the tough times, helping him emerge as a successful businessman.

Moreover, Martins revived his charitable foundation and is actively working to improve education in Nigeria. And he hasn’t stepped away from football entirely. Obafemi keeps a close eye on transfer rumors, particularly those involving Nigerian players. Recently, he publicly congratulated Victor Osimhen on his transfer to Galatasaray from Napoli.

One final intriguing aspect of his football career: there were rumors that Martins was actually six years older than what his official documents stated.

The speculation about age fraud arose when the Nigerian Football Federation’s official website listed Martins’ birthdate as May 1, 1978, while Inter and other clubs always had him down as being born on October 28, 1984. Although this was later dismissed as a technical error, many still believe that the rapid rise and fall of Martins’ career was the result of falsified documents.