Galatasaray have announced the permanent signing of Victor Osimhen from Serie A champions Napoli.
The 26-year-old Nigerian joins the reigning Turkish Super Lig champions in a deal worth €75 million, bringing to an end his five-year stint with the Partenopei after helping them to their first Scudetto in 33 years two seasons ago.
Osimhen spent time on loan at Galatasaray last season, scoring 37 goals in 41 competitive games, the most by a foreign player in a single season in the Turkish top flight, with the Istanbul giants winning a 25th league title and 19th Turkish Cup title.
He becomes the most expensive transfer in Turkish football history, surpassing by a mile the €20 million Fenerbahce paid Sevilla for Morocco Youssef En-Nesyri last summer.
The Yellow-Reds first posted a video on X of the former Lille Osimhen’s iconic face mask before posting a video of him in a plane on a flight to Istanbul, saying: ‘Only Gala’.
Osimhen has courted interest from Saudi Arabian clubs, with Al Hilal making multiple bids this summer. The 2023 African Player of the Year however rejected a move to the lucrative Arabian Gulf.
He was also rumoured to be of interest to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Real Madrid, but no official bids were made.
Osimhen will look forward to playing with Europe’s elite as Galatasaray automatically qualified for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.
