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Obafemi Martins moves to China in permanent deal

The terms of Martins’s contract with the Chinese side have not yet been released.

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According to a report from the BBC, the Seattle Sounders have completed a deal that will see prized Designated Players, Obafemi Martins, join Chinese Super League club, Shanghai Shenhua.

Martins, a former Inter Milan, Wolfsburg and Birmingham striker made his debut for the Nigerian National during an worldwide friendly against Ireland in 2004.

For the Sounders, the sale of Martins, who earned $3 million in 2015 including a base salary of $2.4 million, is likely the result of a few factors. While he has never lifted the league’s most prestigious trophy, he was a big reason the Sounders won the U.S. Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield in 2014. The CSL’s transfer record was broken three times in a 10-day span with Brazilian midfielder Ramires moving from Chelsea to Jiangsu Suning for $28.5m on January 27, Colombian striker Jackson Martinez moving from Atletico Madrid to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao for $47.2m on February 3, and Alex Teixeira moving from Shakhtar Donetsk to Jiangsu Suning for $56m two days later. He has 18 goals in 41 worldwide appearances for Nigeria.

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Last season, Martins netted 15 goals for Seattle in the MLS.

Obafemi Martins has joined Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in a multi-million dollar deal according to BBC Sport