In the summer of 2020, Osimhen’s €80 million (£69m/$92m) transfer from Lille to Napoli became one of Europe’s biggest moves but also one of its most controversial. As Serie A resumed amid the pandemic, Osimhen was grieving his father’s death while facing heavy pressure from Napoli’s president De Laurentiis and CEO Andrea Chiavelli, who were pushing the striker to quickly sign a deal.
Negotiations extended with the Napoli president meeting Osimhen personally to sell the club’s vision. The striker initially refused, emotionally unprepared and unconvinced. But days later, with mounting pressure from agents and officials, he signed what would become a defining contract, one he now says he never truly understood. The transfer, now under Italian investigation for alleged false accounting, marked the beginning of both his rise and his resentment.
Osimhen’s testimony to Italy‘s Guardia di Finanza, which has been leaked by La Repubblica detailed how the transfer unfolded without his knowledge or proper documentation.
“My previous agent, Jean Gerard, had expressed serious interest from Napoli, but he was only interested in my transfer and not in my father’s health. At that time, I didn’t have the head to think about football; I just wanted to know how he was doing,” the striker said. “Gerard called me to meet him in Nice. Luis Campos and Lille president Gerard Lopez were also there. They told me I should move to Napoli, that there was already an agreement in principle and that, due to the pandemic, it was a good opportunity for Lille. But I knew nothing about it.”
In the coming days and when his transfer was getting negotiated, his father died and this angered the Nigerian more as he was unable to see him in the days prior to his death.
“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, without even realising my father’s death,” he added. “I went to Naples anyway, but I wouldn’t have signed anything. I met with the coach, who explained the project to me, and the next day with De Laurentiis in Capri. He told me about the city and the club, but I didn’t understand what he was saying to Giuntoli because they were speaking in Italian. He asked me if I had seen the contract, but I hadn’t received anything.”
As negotiations dragged on, Osimhen’s frustration deepened. When he asked his agent to show him a draft of the Napoli contract, he was told none existed, despite club president De Laurentiis insisting otherwise. Instead, his agent later produced what Osimhen described as “a piece of paper, a pseudo-agreement with Napoli.” Feeling deceived, the striker wanted to return to France and take a break from the chaos.
He eventually cut ties with his agent and brought in William D’Avila to handle the talks. Toward the end of July 2020, the deal was finally signed in Lille in the presence of Napoli official Maurizio Micheli, Lille executives, and Roberto Calenda, the man who would later become Osimhen’s new representative. “Towards the end of July, I signed the contract in Lille, in the presence of Maurizio Micheli for Napoli and, among others, D’Avila, Lopez, Ingla, Calenda, and Cros,” Osimhen recalled.
Osimhen’s years at Napoli brought historic success and mounting tension. He scored 76 goals and registered 18 assists in 133 matches, led Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years, and became the league’s top scorer and the highest-scoring African in Serie A history.
Yet behind the achievements, relations with Napoli president deteriorated. Disputes over contract renewals and transfer clauses created rifts that ultimately saw Osimhen excluded from the 2024–25 squad. He was loaned to Galatasaray, where his revival prompted the Turkish club to snap him up permanently in the summer, officially ending his Napoli chapter.
The transfer that began amid grief and confusion has now come full circle in controversy, as investigators continue probing whether Napoli’s 2020 deal with Lille inflated player valuations to disguise capital gains.
