Obadrawn? Oba couldn’t survive on £75,000 per week claims Nathaniel lawyer.

Posted on November 20th, 2009 | 71 Comments |

The topsy-turvy world of Oba?
The topsy-turvy world of Oba?
Ex Newcastle United hitman, Obafemi Martins, who moved to German Bundesliga champions, Wolfsburg, for £9 million last June, is being sued for £300,000 by his agent, Chris Nathaniel. Nathaniel, who was behind a somewhat dubious Nigerian bid for the Magpies in the latter part of 2008 is attempting to sue Martins for £284,000 plus interest for sponsorship deals made on the players behalf which he claims are unpaid.

Speaking on behalf of Nathaniel and his company, NVA management; counsel, Robert Temmink, claimed that Martins’s spending habits were so bad that he would withdraw £40.000 from his bank just for the weekend, then return to withdraw a further £25,000 the following Monday. Temmink went on to claim:

“Despite earning these vast sums of money he was constantly overdrawn,”

It was claimed that when Martins signed for Newcastle for £10 million in the summer of 2006, he received no money whatsoever for image rights and that it was NVA management who successfully negotiated an £2 million image rights deal, as well as claiming large sponsorship payments from the likes of Nike and Pepsi. They also claimed to organise visas, passports, mortgage and property valuation and critical illness cover for the player.

“He asked for these services to be carried out.” claimed Mr Temmink, adding:

“Day-to-day life with superstars is demanding, and superstars are demanding.”

On hearing this the Judge responded:

“Surely these were things a secretary could do? It was a Jeeves role.”

The case continues, and is expected to reach a conclusion in the next few days.

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1096 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

71 Responses

  1. wouldnt it be great to know about these things as they happen? i bet wolfburg are well pleased with themselves for making this purchase
     
    clearly, with such news coming to light it explains a lot about the player himself, his attitude and where his priorities lie
     
    he was never prolific for us, i dont deny he had his moments but way too far and between too justify the wage… another fine example of an overpaid player milking the toon

  2. He clearly managed his accounts like his positioning on the field, his ball control and shooting. There’s is nothing between his ears, not even sawdust!

  3. Hearing an agent being screwed out of money is like hearing Sunderland have lost a cup final by a dodgy penalty in the last minute. You feel sorry for them, for about half a second.

  5. obviously an absoulte twat…..good riddance….altho i liked him, he always flattered to deceive and was probably, in all honestly, a bit full of himself

  6. Rangerman – tis true but sort of obscene given the poverty going on elsewhere in the world? Even on his doorstep?

  7. bowburnmag – I didn’t have you down as a humanitarian!
    Seriously though, it’s his cash and he can do what he likes with it as far as I’m concerned and if that includes blowing a weeks wage over the weekend then good on him, saying that I find it hard to see what he was spending that sort of  money on  if it was on a consistent basis which Nathaniel claims.
    The company I work for was handling a mortgage for one of our younger players a few years back and he was making £10k mortgage payments every week back then so it could be that a lot of it is going on property.

  8. ranger, did you read the article?
     
    he cant spend them “however he wants” when he has commitments to the people he employs. simples
     
    agreed regarding agents, no sympathy from me… its geenrally them that orcastrate the players moves with a majority of players knowing nothing about it
     
    scum

  9. the article on nufc.com outlines he’s taking 40,000 out on a friday and 25,000 on the following monday, week in week out… cash!
     
     

  11. he cant spend them “however he wants” when he has commitments to the people he employs. simples
     
    …….
     
    Can you explain what you mean here, because Martins isn’t represented by Nathaniel anymore and hasn’t been for over a year, the problem seems to be that Martins has made payments of nearly £200k towards the bill but Nathaniel claims he still owes the £300k.

  12. A few more points.
    If  Martins was on £75k per week then he would have got £45k after tax, unless he was paid £75k after tax.
    What bank do you know where you can walk in on a monday morning a withdraw £25k without any prior notice?

  14. rangerman, we only have what we’ve been told as the facts to go on, so you work it out bigman. i would assume the figure mentions is after tax since the figures bounding about would suggest that… that would be logical thinking no? of course, we cant believe what we read is gospel so ultimately we’ll neevr get to the bottom of it..
     
    so how does that make you feel?
     
    re: post 11, hmm, the statement means exactly what it reads… regardless of whether or not he’s still employed by oba, it is still possible oba owes him money for his services
     
    are you a bit slow or just having an off day
     
    you state… “the problem seems to be that Martins has made payments of nearly £200k towards the bill but Nathaniel claims he still owes the £300k.” so this would imply that oba still owes money’s for the chaps services, no?
    so, to my original point that oba cant spend his money however he likes when he has commitments to his employees, current or previous
     
    jesus on a donkey

  15. @eastend toon – I doubt we’ve heard any actual facts – it’s all sour grapes from an agent who no doubt has been fleecing martins for all he can get – to be honest most players/sportsmen are as thick as **ck and throw thier money around like thier careers going to last forever – thats how you always read about them in the sunday papers when they’re working as a postie or summat
     

  17. agreed stevep, i only based my view on the info we have, take it with a pinch of salt we’ll never know even the outcome of it, never mind the facts.
    and its afact that most sportsment are the same, they live in the stratosphere and their agents are liek those little fishes that cling to the bellies of the fat sharks, ya de daa
     
    which is why i disagree with rangerman saying he can spend it how he likes,  to take that line of thinking pretty much condones him ripping off  someone he’s employed… oba’s in the financial s**t down to his own mismanagement, time to reap what you sow
     
    i wonder if any of us would share rangermans view if we were the ones that were out of pocket by providing a service for one of these “stars”
     
    coem on chaps, get real

  19. Aye but bats you can get 2 for 1 offers at the Co op!

    We normally get six full fat and six diet.

  21. or maybe he has a bad gambling addiction and made a packet on backing against newcastle last season

  22. @eastend – the trouble here is that we dont actually know if he’s ripped his agent off or how he spends his money –
    Wages = 75,000
    Income Tax = £29,806
    National Insurance = £822
    Net Cash =  £44,371
    Impossible for him to draw out 40k on a friday then another 25k on mon morning as no bank would give you a compounded 30% weekly overdraft

  23. anyway I dont give a flying – I agree he can spend his money how he wants and if any daily mail readers start getting all uptight thenthey can get themselves on some snoopers list for council/police so you can report them kids for hanging round the streets and report people for parking the wrong way round …….
     
    worky – you’re worse than Ed with these headlines man :-)
     

  26. Think your right batty , didnt john arne riise pay slip get relaesed onto the net or something while he was still at liverpool showing him been paid monthly?

  27. Large pinches of salt needed!

    Its probably some Nigerian money making scam. If an African sounding person asks for more cash so you can get more details, dont send them it!

    :D:D

  28. You’re right Johnno, some light fingered (aren’t they all) Scouse binman raided his bin and published his wage slip for all the world to see.

  30. It is more than ironic to see Geordies accusing scousers and Africans of being dishonest. I’ve been all over the world, and the worst place I’ve ever been for dodgy, lightfingered rogues is Newcastle!

  35. I dare say there is a small bit of truth in this story. but I suppose he could blow a weeks wages in a weekend on looking after all his clingers on. I know when I drank and partied I was able to waste 2 weeks wages in a week end with fcuk all to show for it, I know the MOD didnt pay as well but I think my weeks would be as much to my spending habits as Oba’s is to him.

  36. Big Dave – Great point. Back in my hedonistic days (i loved those days) i thought nothing of soending a week, 2 weeks wages maybe more on one big weekend. The principle is the same, even if the amounts differ (vastly) :D

  38. workyticket says:
    November 20, 2009 at 5:49 pm
    It is more than ironic to see Geordies accusing scousers and Africans of being dishonest. I’ve been all over the world, and the worst place I’ve ever been for dodgy, lightfingered rogues is Newcastle!

    —————————–

    That, Worky, is pure nonsense. Your going to get the odd bad apple of course, but generally us Geordies are an honest folk. It isn’t just Geordies accusing Scousers and Africans, its the same throughout the country. They have that reputation for a reason!

    The other day in my local ASDA, a young girl went missing. The shop done all the procedure, tanniy announcements, locking the doors etc. Eventually this girl was found in the toilets with 2 Somalian women. They were changing her clothes to boys clothes and shaving her hair off.

    Also everyone knows about these Nigerian scams, its common knowledge for god’s sake. How do you think Scousers got there reputation? Was it just made up on a whim and caught on? Or maybe, just maybe, its something that happened years ago that has stuck.

    Myself personally, am not aware Geordies have any real reputation such as these. Yes we get accused of moaning a bit, but generally i think we are viewed as a resilient, friendly bunch.

  39. Toonsy > Back in my hedonistic days (i loved those days)
    I loved mine at the time but I cringe now when I think about them lol and would never want to return to them, except an odd time I get an urge for a tin of glue but that was in the early hedonistic days. 
    Worky im sure you have wasted some dosh in your Rave days :)

  42. Big Dave says:
    November 20, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    “Worky im sure you have wasted some dosh in your Rave days”

    I usually had to be the sensible one, Dave, because I was usually organising everything. :-(  I did nearly set fire to around £10,000 in cash accidentally once though. That tested my reflexes!

  43. Worky > because I was usually organising everything.
    LOL does that mean all the gear as well ;)

  44. Lotta schadenfreude  and pre  judgment going on here.
    One guy reaches the conclusion from the above blog Martins head is full of sawdust.       Hmmmm !
    The jury is`nt out, has`nt even been chosen,  but some (all knowing) have reached a guilty conclusion, amazing.
    Think about it, who would you believe Martins or his ex agent ?
    C`mon guys listen to yourselves.

  45. Sorry to have a dig at you fella, but the guy working out martins tax and ni based on his weekly pay made me laugh. Seriously these people aren’t on paye. Like most high net worth individuals they don’t pay their taxes in the same way most of us do. If martins paid anywhere near the equivelent paye tax then he needs to change his accountant.

  46. Big Dave says:
    November 20, 2009 at 7:59 pm

    “LOL does that mean all the gear as well ;) ”

    I used to stay away from all that side of things (honest), but the usual arrangements at most clubs and parties was to let one or two known dealers in (who’d pay kickbacks) and let them ply their trade with impunity. The rest would be pursued and kicked out, and the bouncers would usually nick their stash along the way.

  47. workyticket says:
    November 20, 2009 at 5:49 pm
    It is more than ironic to see Geordies accusing scousers and Africans of being dishonest. I’ve been all over the world, and the worst place I’ve ever been for dodgy, lightfingered rogues is Newcastle!

    lol worky i cant believe you said that ….fishing for bites ?? lol

  51. TOONSY
    Yeah, have to agree ,  Geordies for the most part are both as you state a friendly and resilient people.
    Think WORKEY gets a bit annoyed with “The White Sheet” crowd and in turn tends to generalize.
    However they can at times be be a bit xenophobic, blaming  the usual suspects, suvern press, cockney whatever`s, for their own circumstance
    That also tends to raise his hackles, but in general have found him to be  fair minded.

  54. chuck says:
    November 20, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    “Think WORKEY gets a bit annoyed with “The White Sheet” crowd and in turn tends to generalize.”

    Chuck. I don’t have to generalise, I’ve been a Geordie for over forty years and I’ve known all kinds of different Geordies, from Benwell bandits to aristocrats and multi millionaires. Over the decades, I’ve seen some things on Tyneside change out of all recognition, and other things stay exactly the same.

  65. Off topic,
    Xmas present for my son, PS3 or Xbox360 ? Advice sought as I need help, (I have a PS2)
    On topic Oba will ultimately been see as a failure at SJP.

  68. hoo man worky, who do ye think your talkin aboot like?
    Am from benwell like!
    A sell the best tac gannin man! Better than aal the scouse crap.
    Divvent have a gan at us like you pure radge pot.
    If ye tried my gear yi kna yi would change ya mind like.
    Wu not aal scum yi kna. . Am grafting for a living. Oot every neet, burgling factorys man. Am not like these scousers burgling hooses. Pure ladgeful that like.
    A nick aal the lead flashing off hooses but a never gan in.
    Thats alreet tho, a make an honest living not like the scousers.
    Anyways laters.
    Just nicked a crackin mountain bike last neet.
    Wor youngin is ganna love it on xmas day.
    Toon toon.

  69. Troy > Just nicked a crackin mountain bike last neet.
    any chance you can get me one and an xbox for my youngun ;)

  70. Batty
    Jarra slacks man !
    Kna where it is like ?
    Nah!   kidding, its a scael fadda ! (long story) dont want to bore you.
     

  71. Interesting story. May seem a lost cause but I’d like to come to Martins’ defence here. I’ve been doing some smoking gun research. This debacle of being sued and all, has been going on since February of this year, ever since the relationship between NVA management and Martins turned sour. (See article here: http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2009/02/08/obafemi-martins-sued-over-disputed-agent-fees-79310-22879624/)
    I’m not one to judge – but wasn’t it the NVA folks the ones touting themselves as buyers of Newcastle United earlier this year in yet another publicity hungry rave?
    NVA was supposed to manage his affairs and broker deals on his (Martins) behalf – apparently. So then, were his affairs managed properly? It’s a different thing altogether if the relationship turned sour and both parties went their ways – a totally different kettle of fish demanding to get paid for services not rendered – or indeed lacklustre type service.
    How many of us would earn that much money, sign up with an agency who wants to get paid gazilions per phone call and for carrying out the most basic of duties? I certainly wouldn’t want to keep my money lying around for an agency like that.
    I would have thought an astute agency would put things in order properly and not have to resort to mudslinging by way of a media blitz and court battles to recover alleged monies owed. Surely a ‘Super’ Agency like NVA would have well defined and stipulated modes of payment – eh? Remember something called invoice, pay-by-dates?

    Been on the NVA management website  (http://www.nvamanagement.com/) Parading footballers you don’t even manage on the website does not necessarily mean you know how to manage a footballer. Rumour has it the CEO is a club promoter and DJ by trade, thus his venture into rubbing shoulders with stars – laudable, I must admit!

    It’ll be interesting to see what contract was signed or agreed with the footballer in question before all of this brouhaha.
    Why did NVA get fired? A little bird told me they were more interested in introducing diamonds merchants (all for a back end fee of course!) to Martins, which he refused a few times. The plot thickens!

    The tenure of the contract – apparently – was for 2 years/seasons but NVA got fired before the first season ended – interesting. Perhaps Martins is not as stupid as NVA have tried to make him out to be.
    So did Martins do all these alleged spending, the seasons before then and the one before and so forth? Questionable if you asked me. Let’s not be so gullible and get taken on a ride by a some rag-tag, fly-by-night agent/agency who seemingly is on a quest for publicity.
    So, NVA yet again, fired by Jordan AKA Katie Price after a couple of months (wonder why they didn’t sue Jordan – may be because she didn’t quite fit the bill of a sterotypical ‘dumb black star’ as thought) fired by Obafemi MArtins the list goes on.

    Question is, why didn’t all these happen whilst he was in Italy playing for Inter-Milan? Why didn’t whoever took over from NVA (after they were fired) report the same thing? Really curious as to why folks still see African stars as easy prey for lawsuits. Well, perhaps it’s time for a new awakening for high profile sports personalties – rethink management of their affairs with astute an credible agencies.

    As for Martins, earning his wages surely doesn’t preclude him from dining out with mates and of course driving what car he likes – so long as they’re paid for. There weren’t any issues about Michael Owen’s gambling sprees and over the top excesses even when he failed to perform on the pitch whilst playing for Newcastle.
    I think NVA is up to no good again and see Martins as a easy prey.  Blame goes to Martins for not having good folks around him. Sod the agents is what I say.
    Here’s hoping Martins sees the need to surround himself with people of integrity. I rest my case.