“€7m, more or less” – LOSC Lille President reveals shocking financial details of Osimhen’s move to Napoli

Osimhen had a brilliant season with LOSC Lille before heading out to the Italian Serie A after one year.

The president of French Ligue 1 side-LOSC Lille, Olivier Létang, has revealed some shocking details about how much his side made from the sale of Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, Soccernet.ng reports.

After a brilliant season with Belgian side, Charleroi, Osimhen joined the four-time French Champions for a fee of around €13m in 2019 and immediately hit the ground running at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

The Nigerian forward scored 18 goals and provided six assists in 38 games during his first campaign with the French side and immediately attracted the big European clubs. As revealed by Transfermarkt, Osimhen eventually joined Napoli for a fee of €77.5m.

However, Létang recently told L’Equipe TV that the club earned way less than what they sold the striker for due to the presence of third parties.

“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. We earned a lot more with the following operations because there were no more commissions, retro-commissions, intermediaries,” the 52-year-old said as revealed via Gazzetta.

Victor Osimhen of SSC Napoli during the Friendly Match match between SSC Napoli and Lille OSC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Naples Italy on 21 December 2022. Naples Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Naples Italy Copyright: xFrancoxRomanox SP24-495-057. [Photo credit/ Imago]
Letang was not the President who orchestrated the sale, having arrived a few months later. However, he quickly realized the documents were not brought forward to the investigators, but that all commissions for the remainder of the payments were frozen, as they only got €7m there on in.

Authorities in Italy and France are currently investigating Napoli’s deal to sign Osimhen from LOSC Lille in 2020 while he’s currently on loan with Turkish Super Lig side, Galatasaray.

Baris Alper Yilmaz of Galatasaray celebrates after scoring the first goal of his team with Victor Osimhen 45 during the Turkish Super League match between Galatasaray and Eyuspor at Rams Park Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul Turkey Copyright: xSeskimphotox Galatasaray-Eyup-011224 89. [Photo credit/ Imago].
On the flip side, Napoli’s lawyer, Mattia Grassani, revealed a while back that the club are not guilty on any charge, hinting they paid in full.

“Napoli has already been judged on this matter with two different levels of the justice system that cleared the club and directors, finding no irregularities. Napoli is the only club where the Prosecutor did not ask for the judgment to be revoked, which then led to Juventus having first a 15-point and then a 10-point Serie A penalty,” he said in quotes revealed by Football Italia.

While the proceeds of the ongoing investigation are currently unknown, Osimhen will be hoping the eventual outcome will not affect his future transfer when his loan spell at Galatasaray comes to an end.

This post was last modified on December 19, 2024 9:52 am

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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