Former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins was broke despite earning £75,000 a week, a High Court judge has been told.

Former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins was broke despite earning £75,000 a week, a High Court judge has been told.

Martins was “constantly overdrawn” and regularly blew £40,000 in a weekend before withdrawing another £25,000 on Monday, the court heard.

The 25-year-old is being sued by his former agent, Chris Nathaniel, whose company NVA claims it managed every aspect of his life and gave him cash advances.

NVA say he owes a £284,000 fee plus interest for managing his finances and other areas, and used Nathaniel in what Judge Richard Seymour QC described as “a Jeeves role”.

Martins signed the a lucrative £75,000-a-week contract when he joined Newcastle from Internazionale for £10 million in 2006.

Robert Tennink, the lawyer representing NVA, told the High Court in London: “Despite earning these vast sums of money he was constantly overdrawn.”

Martins, now of German champions Wolfsburg, owned a multi-million pound mansion in Darras Hall, Northumbria and rented a luxury flat on Newcastle’s Quayside. He also had several high-performance cars.

The striker is fighting the claim. He was not in court on Thursday and the hearing is scheduled to last for three days.
Eurosport