Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has admitted that the club’s decision to sanction the transfer of Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray was a big mistake, Footynaija.com reports.
Napoli cut ties with Osimhen in the summer of 2024 after the masked hitman racked up 76 goals and 18 assists in 133 appearances across all competitions over the course of a four-year stint and led them to their first Scudetto win in just over three decades during the 2022/23 campaign.
The Nigeria international initially joined Galatasaray on loan after falling out with the Partenopei’s hierarchy during a turbulent 2023/24 season where Napoli’s title defense collapsed into rubble as they failed to even qualify for any European competition.
He carried his influential nature to Istanbul where he went on to deliver the Super Lig and Turkish Kupasi titles for Galatasaray during the 2024/25 campaign before sealing a permanent move to RAMS Park last summer.
Before his move to the Super Lig though, Osimhen attracted strong interest from Europe’s top sides, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all linked, alongside interest from Saudi Arabia.
However, no move materialized with reports at the time suggesting that Napoli’s top brass blocked every possibility of a transfer to any of the aforementioned clubs.
Reflecting on how events unfolded, De Laurentiis admitted in a recent interview that the club may have mishandled a crucial moment in Osimhen’s exit.
De Laurentiis admits “big mistake” in Victor Osimhen transfer saga
“When we started with Conte, we received an offer of €200m from PSG and others to sell Victor Osimhen and Kvara together. Mr. Conte said, ‘Osimhen you can sell, but please don’t sell Kvara. This was a big mistake,” he told The Athletic.
“Because afterward, I had major trouble with Kvara’s father and agent. Any player aged under 28, after three years of contract, can free himself for next to nothing. And since this player and his agent were absolutely determined to leave Naples, I decided it was better to sell him.
“The coach was not happy because you are telling him I need to do it for legal reasons. I’m trying to change these rules. Because if you make an investment, you cannot be blackmailed by anybody.”
Fortunately, Napoli’s theatrics in the transfer market did not derail Osimhen’s career in the least, as the Super Eagles striker remains one of the most prolific strikers across Europe and still has many top clubs from the top five leagues sending admiring glances his way.
