Former Super Eagles striker Obafemi Martins has claimed he was faster than some of football’s renowned speedsters including Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe during his playing days, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The former Inter Milan striker made this bold assertion during an interview with ESPN at the CAF awards in Morroco on Monday, where he was asked to compare his speed with several past and present football stars.
When quizzed about Arsenal legend Henry, Martins confidently stated, “I’m faster than him,” before adding that he was “way faster” than the likes of Ronaldo, Mbappe, Kyle Walker, Arjen Robben and Gareth Bale.
The 40-year-old also claimed superiority in pace over Mohamed Salah, Brazilian legend Ronaldo Delima, Leroy Sane, Adama Traore and Theo Walcott, responding with “I’m faster than him” for each player mentioned.
Martins, who scored 18 goals for Nigeria, cheekily added that he possessed better ball control than Robben while insisting that the Brazilian Ronaldo was aware of his superior speed.
The former Newcastle United striker challenged doubters to verify his claims with his former teammates at Inter Milan.
“There’s no player on this list faster than me,” Martins declared.
“Go back to Inter Milan and ask about me. There’s no way.”
Martins scored 201 goals during his illustrious career, where his blistering pace became his trademark at clubs including Inter Milan, Newcastle United, Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan, Birmingham City, Levante, Seattle Sounders and Shanghai Shenhua.
