Early career Born in
Kaduna, a club record paid for a teenager at the time. He made his debut in the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against
Slovan Bratislava, but an injury sustained in the 6–1 win over rivals
Tottenham Hotspur in December 1997 ruled him out for the rest of the season. This meant he missed their victories in the
1998 Football League Cup final and the
1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. However, with Chelsea he went on to win the
1998 UEFA Super Cup, the
FA Cup and
Charity Shield in 2000, and reached the
2002 FA Cup final. He was also instrumental in Chelsea's run in the
1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. Babayaro was sent off in extra time against
Barcelona, as they bowed out of the competition at the quarter final stage. He faced competition from
Graeme Le Saux during his seven-year spell, but managed to play over 200 games for the club. His acrobatic celebrations with
backflips were noted by the fans of the club. The steady form of
Wayne Bridge saw Babayaro start only four
FA Premier League matches for Chelsea in
2004–05 under new manager
José Mourinho. Chelsea ended the season as Premier League champions.
Newcastle United In January 2005, he left
Chelsea to join
Newcastle United on an undisclosed fee, where he established himself as first-choice left-back. He scored his first and what turned out to be his only Newcastle goal in a 3–1 win over
Coventry City in the
FA Cup. In September 2006, Babayaro was given a three-match ban by
The Football Association for slapping
Liverpool striker
Dirk Kuyt in the face, while Liverpool took a corner. The slap was not seen by the referee
Mark Halsey, but later footage showed Babayaro punch the Dutchman in the face. Babayaro accepted the allegations and apologised to Kuyt. On 10 February 2007, after a 2–1 win over Liverpool, then-Newcastle manager
Glenn Roeder revealed that just 12 hours before kick-off, Babayaro had called him saying his younger brother David had died from
tuberculosis. Despite this, Babayaro insisted he would still play and put in a solid performance which earned him praise from Roeder and the fans. This fine form continued into United's 3–1 away victory against
Zulte Waregem, in the
UEFA Cup. Due to his many injury problems it was mutually decided, on 10 December 2007, that Babayaro should be released from his contract with immediate effect and a compensation figure was agreed. In January 2009, former Newcastle chairman
Freddy Shepherd described Babayaro as a "disgrace" who "didn't pull his weight" during a televised BBC interview.
Later career On 21 January 2008, 30-year-old Babayaro came to an agreement with the
LA Galaxy to join them on a three-year contract, effective immediately. With this move, the Nigerian re-joined Galaxy coach
Ruud Gullit who previously brought him to
Chelsea in 1997 and spent a season coaching him there. This time again, it was the recently hired Gullit who wanted Babayaro at his new club. However, it did not take long for the move to turn sour. Thinking that he had arrived at sort of an American superclub that only a year earlier gave
David Beckham what was widely reported to be the $250 million contract, Babayaro was agitated by what he considered to be "shabby" accommodations – from having to fly in the economy class to sharing a hotel room on the road. His lack of commitment in training and preseason games reflected those feelings, and he soon got on Gullit's and club president and general manager
Alexi Lalas's bad side. On 3 March, Babayaro was waived by the Galaxy after playing only 45 minutes in a preseason friendly against
FC Seoul, receiving a yellow card and conceding a penalty in the process. The reason for this unexpected release was not stated explicitly by Galaxy front office. "After a period of evaluation, it was decided that it would be in the best interest of the club and the player to part ways," Lalas said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that it did not work out, but Ruud and our technical staff are hard at work putting together this team and difficult decisions have to be made." During pre-season for the 2008–09 English league season, Babayaro trained with
Premier League club
Portsmouth at the invitation of manager
Harry Redknapp with a view to signing for the
FA Cup holders. On 14 August 2008, Redknapp revealed that he would not offer Babayaro a contract at
Fratton Park. On 8 July 2010, Babayaro officially announced his retirement from football. ==International career==