Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has revealed that he felt pressured into joining Napoli in 2020 while his father was gravely ill, saying agents and club officials pushed the transfer without his consent.
In a testimony leaked by La Repubblica, Osimhen told Italy’s Guardia di Finanza that he never saw a draft of his contract and was sidelined during negotiations involving Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis and Lille officials.
The move from Lille to Napoli in the summer of 2020 was one of Europe’s biggest transfers but quickly became controversial. Osimhen recounted the ordeal amid a Rome-based investigation into alleged false accounting linked to the €70 million deal.
“My previous agent, Jean Gerard, was only interested in my transfer and not my father’s health. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about football; I just wanted to know how he was doing,” Osimhen said.
He described a meeting in Nice with Gerard, Lille president Gerard Lopez, and Luis Campos, where he was told the Napoli transfer was already agreed upon in principle. “But I knew nothing about it,” he added.
Tragically, Osimhen’s father passed away during the transfer negotiations. “I was extremely angry with Lille and my agent because I hadn’t been able to see him before he died. They even told me I would have to leave for Naples the next day, unaware of my father’s death,” he said.
Despite his frustration, Osimhen traveled to Naples, met the coach and De Laurentiis, but still had not received a proper contract. When he asked his agent for a draft, he was given only “a pseudo-agreement.” Feeling deceived, he considered returning to France but eventually cut ties with Gerard and hired William D’Avila as his new representative.
The transfer was finally completed at the end of July 2020 in Lille, with Napoli officials, Lille executives, and Osimhen’s new agent present.
The transfer is now under investigation as prosecutors probe alleged financial irregularities. Reports suggest Napoli and Lille may have inflated the value of lesser-known players to comply with financial regulations. Osimhen’s initial valuation was €50 million, with the final €70 million figure including €20 million in additional player exchanges. Questions have arisen over the valuations of youth players Luigi Liguori, Claudio Manzi, and Ciro Palmieri, who never played for Lille and were quickly loaned out before being released.
Napoli and Lille officials, including De Laurentiis and Chiavelli, may face trial over alleged accounting manipulations linked to the striker’s transfer.
