Victor Osimhen’s high-profile transfer from Lille to Napoli in 2020 has been making waves for the wrong reasons and the French club president has added some context to the controversy.
The Nigerian forward became the most expensive African player in 2020 after he penned a record-breaking deal worth €70 million to join Napoli from the Ligue 1 outfit.
According to Football Italia, authorities in Italy and France have investigated Napoli’s deal to sign Osimhen in 2020 as they suspect some fraudulent dealings involved in the Nigerian forward’s transfer.
Asides the transfer fee paid for Osimhen, four players were also included in the deal for the Nigerian forward but they never made a single appearance for Lille, causing people to raise eyebrows about the transfer.
Osimhen would go ahead to become a cult hero at Napoli, helping the Italian club win its first Scudetto in 24 years and also scored 76 goals in 133 Napoli appearances.
How much Lille earned from Osimhen’s deal
Lille President Olivier Letang has admitted the Ligue 1 club only made a meagre profit of €7 million from the sale of Osimhen to Napoli despite the widely reported €70 million transfer fee paid.
“The net amount, considering the player’s purchase, four players valued at €20m, but who were worth nothing, intermediaries and commissions, was €7m, more or less,” Letang told Gazzetta.
Napoli are now desperate to offload Osimhen after four years after a falling out with the club’s hierarchy and has shipped the Super Eagles striker on loan to Galatasaray.
Ligue 1 club prepares bid for Osimhen
Earlier, Legit reported that Paris Saint-Germain has frozen out French forward Randal Kolo Muani from the first team as they make way for the arrival of Osimhen.
The Parisians are reportedly preparing a bid to sign the on-loan Galatasaray forward and offloading Kolo Muani from their team will clear the path for the Nigerian striker’s arrival.
Osimhen is one of Europe’s most-wanted strikers as Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United have all been linked with an interest in the Super Eagles forward.
