Victor Osimhen: How a Lagos paper vendor and Chelsea legend helped shape the career of Nigeria’s MVP

Nigeria and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the two figures who inspired his rise from the streets of Lagos to the summit of European football: his elder brother Andrew and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles forward, speaking in an interview with UEFA.com, reflected on how his brother’s determination and Drogba’s brilliance helped shape his journey from a struggling young boy in Nigeria to one of the game’s most admired strikers.

“For me, it’s my brother in life and then, in football, it’s Didier Drogba,” Osimhen said.

“I saw the way my brother used to work because he sells sports newspapers. And if you sell sports newspapers in Nigeria, you can stay on the roadside, or you have your newspaper in your hand and you walk through the cars and hold up. He was the person that actually inspired me to hustle so hard.”

Victor Osimhen: Drogba’s influence and the making of a world-class striker

While his brother taught him the meaning of hard work, Drogba, the Ivorian icon and Chelsea great, showed Osimhen what football excellence looked like.

“In the footballing aspect, it was Drogba because I saw him and I tried to model my game to his, and I tried to see how he plays, and how he’s living life outside of football,” Osimhen said.

“So, I have to be grateful for that man because for all I am now, I think I attribute some of my successes to him.”

Osimhen’s admiration for Drogba was not mere fandom; it became a study in craft.

“He was the one that I actually picked to see the way he plays, to try to add some of his qualities, some of the things that he does that make him one of the most sought-after strikers in world football during his playing time,” he added.

That obsession with improvement paid off. Osimhen burst onto the global stage after firing Nigeria to victory at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scoring a tournament-record ten goals. His talent took him from Wolfsburg in Germany, to Charleroi in Belgium, Lille in France, and eventually Napoli in Italy, where his goals fired the club to a first Serie A title in over three decades.

Osimhen became the first African player to win the Serie A top scorer award, a record that crowned him not just as Nigeria’s finest, but one of the world’s most feared finishers.

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Galatasaray glory and record-breaking move

His story entered another golden chapter in Turkey. On loan at Galatasaray, Osimhen scored freely, leading the club to a league and cup double, and claiming the Super Lig top scorer award.

That form convinced Galatasaray to make the move permanent. In one of the biggest transfer headlines of the summer, they paid €75 million to Napoli, a record fee in Turkish football history.

Osimhen will be keen to write a new chapter in his incredible tale when Galatasaray face Ajax in Amsterdam in the UEFA Champions League this week.