I still feel betrayed by Obafemi Martins.

No one likes a sellout. When it comes to those who make millions pursing our dreams we'd much rather they do so out of love for that passion than the millions part. But if there's that much to be made there's always going to be those who prioritize that part than the love of the game. And in 2016 Martins showed the world but especially the Sounders fanbase showed that he was one of these people.

Now to be as fair as possible I did try and do research on his upbringing but couldn't find anything other than he has 2 brothers who also play soccer at a pro level. And of course he's from Nigeria and born there in 1984 (or 1978 depends on who you ask). Though Nigeria in the 80s and 90s that was not a nice place to be. With multiple military coups successfully and failed plus a flip flopping in-between democracy and military dictatorship. There was plenty of reason as someone who was seeing all those go down and affect those around him to be highly motivated in giving a secure future to those around him and himself.

Martins himself left Lagos, Nigeria for Italy after being scouted at 16 by Serie C side A.C. Reggiana during a match with his youth club his local club F.C. Ebedei and his rise from obscurity to the top of the game was as quick as he was in his prime. In 2001 Inter Milan signed Martins for 750k pounds to their youth team where he scored 23 goals. And 2002 he made his debut for the senior team but didn't get serious playing time until 03-04 where in 37 appearances he scored 11 times. In the next few years his reputation grew scoring 22 goals the next year with Inter than going to Newcastle and had 17 goals in his debut season. Now being well known around Europe for his acrobatic celebrations and pace. But after that great season at Newcastle things took a turn for the worse for Martins.

He went from 46 appearances and 17 goals his debut season to 33 appearances and 10 goals his 2nd then leaving after only scoring 8 goals in all competitions. A huge reason was the change in management as Martins works in a duo where he's more the finisher meanwhile new manager Keegan had him as being used as part of a three pronged attack along with Owen and Viduka. But it was the transfer to Wolfsburg that killed his career in the top European clubs. Wolfsburg was coming of a shock Bundesliga title led by the elite striker duo of Dzeko and Grafite and Martins was meant to assist and bolster their partnership. Grafite regressed from 28 goals last year to only 11 in 2009-10 and where Martins were supposed to at least pick up a lot of his slack he instead only scored 6 goals and Wolfsburg fell back to 8th in the league.

After that he was sold to Ruben Kazan in Russia where he spent 3 season, went on loan to Birmingham City randomly then was sold in Levante to try and revive his career in Europe but only scored 9 goals in all contests. That's when in 2013 he ended up traveling the yellow brick road to the Emerald city, Seattle. And he quickly became a fan favorite for very obvious reasons. People always love the guy who gets the goals for their favorite club and that's exactly what Martins did for the Sounders. In 2014 he scored 17 goals and made the MLS best XI and in 2015 scored 15 goals and made the MLS All-Star team. In only 3 years he earned a place in the heart of each and every Sounders fan, especially me. Not inly because he was a fun to watch striker who scored often but because I was a kid who played FIFA. And his pace and strength on that game mixed with being on my favorite team made him 1 of my favorite players to use in the game. But like that he was then gone.

In 2016 China was buying notable players like Oscar the Brazilian CAM from Chelsea like Saudi did a few transfer windows ago but on a smaller scale. Trying to bolster the Chinese Super League by spending lots of money to get elite talents and a talent that caught their eye was Martins. Who was signed for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua. And I'm sure some people don't care understanding that want to get that bag and is grateful for his brief but awesome time with the Sounders. Good for him, he worked hard to become one of the best in the world at the world's most popular sport and now he's the richest Nigerian player ever, that's awesome. And in some ways he is but in many ways it's not.

Many people had grew a emotional attachment to the guy and his great play for us so because of that by disregarding that for money so bluntly it exposes how little he cares about that. And no they shouldn't and many ways it's good not all players care about that but loving money so much more is a problem and Martins is a perfect example. In China his play fell off a cliff only scoring 9 goals in 2016 then 7 goals in 2017. He could've maximized his retirement going out in a blaze of glory becoming immortal in the hearts of all Sounders fans and scoring goals for fun in the MLS before bowing out. Instead he chased the money and paid the price. Which he also shouldn't have done for fans like me but for himself and going out in the best way possible instead of how he did, since he deserves better. There's also why he was so money driven later in his career.

In 2009 while in the middle of playing in England then Germany 2 of the best and most profitable leagues in the world on 75k pounds a week wages he said he was broke. His constant and impulsive spending he even admitted caused him to fall out with people close to him. Now being so young and from a nation where so many struggle suddenly coming into so much money like he did. I'm sure many would've made the same if not worse mistakes than he did. And now he's a lot smarter with his money and has multiple successful business in Nigeria and even studied business in Harvard and is doing very well for himself which I'm happy to hear. His story should serve as a reminder to always be aware of the situation you're in and think through what you'll do. Because if not it'll bite you in the butt in the future and you may not be able to make the most out of what you have later, thanks a bunch for reading!