How Galatasaray Secured Victor Osimhen: A Step-by-Step Breakdown

The Architect of a Dream Championship The globally renowned star was one of the key architects of Napoli’s dream championship in the 2022-23 season. At the end of that season, it was expected that he would sign with one of Europe’s top clubs. However, he decided to stay with Napoli, influenced by the allure of the Champions League and a promise made by club president De Laurentiis for the following season.

The Shock on TikTok But last year, things did not go as planned. While Napoli endured a disappointing season, Osimhen faced a significant shock from his club’s social media accounts. Napoli’s TikTok account first compared Osimhen to a coconut and later mocked him for missing a penalty.

PSG Made the First Move As the season ended, the first team to knock on Napoli’s door for the 25-year-old goal machine was PSG, who had just lost Mbappé to Real Madrid. The French giants offered €100 million, but Napoli President De Laurentiis demanded €130 million, causing the deal to fall through. Chelsea then entered the race.

Rejected Saudi Offers Osimhen was now very close to realizing his Premier League dream. However, Napoli and Chelsea couldn’t reach an agreement. Subsequently, Saudi club Al-Ahli made an offer and reached a deal with the Italian club. But Osimhen rejected the move, as he wanted to stay in Europe.

Agreed with Chelsea, But… Chelsea didn’t give up and returned with two different offers. First, they proposed a swap deal involving Lukaku, which failed. Just before the English transfer window closed, they made a loan offer with a mandatory purchase option. At this point, the Nigerian star had agreed with Chelsea, but Napoli once again said “no.”

Breaking Ties with Napoli On the final day of the English transfer window, Liverpool made a surprise bid, but it also failed. Following these developments, Osimhen cut ties with Napoli, and coach Conte excluded him from the squad.

George Gardi Took Action The agent George Gardi, who had previously brought stars like Icardi, Mertens, Torreira, and Davinson to Galatasaray, took action. He sent a message to the Yellow-Reds, asking, “Would you like Osimhen?” With Okan Buruk’s approval, the management quickly responded with a “Yes.” Napoli agreed to a loan offer. Consequently, board member İbrahim Hatipoğlu, sporting director Cenk Ergün, and Okan Buruk immediately flew to Napoli on a private jet.

A Single Request Before the Transfer In Napoli, an agreement was reached on all terms. Buruk held a private meeting with Osimhen, and the world-renowned forward also agreed to the deal. However, Osimhen had one request before the transfer: the release clause in his contract should be reduced to €75 million.

Special Permission to Keep the Airport Open There was a risk that the plane bringing him to Istanbul might not take off due to Napoli Airport being closed from 22:30 to 04:00 local time for security reasons. Galatasaray’s management secured special permission to keep the airport open.

Meeting Fans and Celebrating Napoli agreed to reduce the 25-year-old forward’s release clause to €80 million. This allowed the plane carrying one of the most significant transfers in Turkish football history to take off. Around 03:30, Victor Osimhen met thousands of fans waiting for him at the airport and performed his first celebratory chant with them!

Amazed by the Reception The world-famous striker was shocked to hear that thousands of fans were waiting for him at the airport at 03:30 in the morning.

“I’ll Thrill the Fans with My Goals!” Victor Osimhen’s first words were: “This is a club I know. One of the biggest clubs in the world with amazing fans. I came here to experience this energy. Seeing fans here at this hour of the night excites me a lot. I want to thrill them with my goals and hear them shout my name.” Osimhen also mentioned Mertens, with whom he played in Napoli, saying, “He helped me a lot when I first went to Italy. I know he’ll help me settle in here as well.”