Ranti Martins Soleye was born on 5 September 1986 and is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
23 Facts About Ranti Martins
1.
2.
Ranti Martins is the record goal scorer in the history of Indian top-flight football with 214 goals.
3.
Ranti Martins finished as the first tier's top scorer in six seasons, more times than any other player.
4.
Ranti Martins scored a total 22 goals for Indian clubs at the continental tournament AFC Cup.
5.
Ranti Martins then moved to Ghana where he joined Asante Kotoko Football Academy.
6.
Ranti Martins stayed at the Academy till 2004 before moving to King Faisal Babes in the Ghana Premier League.
7.
Ranti Martins did however lead Dempo to the championship that very season as well.
8.
Ranti Martins made his debut in the AFC Cup during the 2005 version of the cup against Al Ahed of Lebanon on 9 March 2005.
9.
Ranti Martins scored 2 goals during the 2006 AFC Cup against Al-Nasr from Oman and FC Merw of Turkmenistan.
10.
The next season Ranti Martins finished as joint top scorer with Odafe Onyeka Okolie with 16 goals.
11.
Ranti Martins did though lead Dempo to their second I-League title in the very next season, with himself scoring 13 goals during the whole season.
12.
Meanwhile, during that season Ranti Martins helped Dempo make it to the Round of 16 during the 2009 AFC Cup in which he finished tied for eighth in scoring with five goals during the tournament.
13.
On 12 May 2012 it was officially confirmed that Ranti Martins had signed with big spenders, Prayag United, who play in the I-League.
14.
Ranti Martins then scored in his next match against his former club, Dempo, on 8 December 2012 in which he scored the opening goal in the 21st minute and he did not celebrate the goal out of respect for Dempo.
15.
Ranti Martins then went on the finish the season in emphatic form by scoring a goal in each of his last seven games of the season.
16.
On 30 April 2014 it was announced that Ranti Martins had signed a two-year contract with I-League runners-up East Bengal.
17.
On 18 January 2015, Ranti Martins scored his first goal for the club in his league debut against Sporting Clube de Goa.
18.
On 12 May 2016 it was announced that Ranti Martins was not in the plans of the returning East Bengal head coach, Trevor Morgan, and that he would be leaving the club.
19.
On 2 January 2017 it was announced that Ranti Martins has successfully penned a deal with Maryland-based SGFC Eagles which features in the American Soccer League.
20.
Ranti Martins, despite playing in the Indian I-League, believes that he has what it takes to play for his birth country Nigeria.
21.
Ranti Martins said that at one point an official from the Nigeria Football Federation arrived in India to watch him play a match and that he would be watching Ranti Martins.
22.
In 2003, Ranti Martins was using a Ghanaian passport from which his agent gave him and at one point he was offered the chance to join the Ghana U17s for the 2005 African U-17 Championship qualifiers.
23.
However Ranti Martins rejected the offer due to his loyalty towards Nigeria.