Victor Osimhen’s record-breaking move to Galatasaray is still dominating headlines, but FIFA Technical Committee member and former Nigeria captain Sunday Oliseh believes the public is looking at the wrong figure, Footynaija.com reports.
While the €75 million fee paid to Napoli has been widely reported as the cost of securing the Nigerian striker, Oliseh insists the true financial outlay is far higher. Speaking in a video shared on social media, he explained that once wages, taxes, and clauses are factored in, the overall cost to the Turkish champions approaches an eye-watering €187 million.
Oliseh, who won the 1996 Olympic gold medal with Nigeria and represented the Super Eagles at two FIFA World Cups, stressed that football’s financial realities often get overlooked by supporters.
“Let’s get one thing very clear, for the fans football is passion, love but for all the actors involved in football, it is business,” he said.
Addressing the sticker shock around the deal, Oliseh clarified that the €75 million fee is just one part of the financial picture.
“The real price for acquiring and maintaining Osimhen is actually €187m,” he stated, while breaking down the numbers in detail.
According to him, the package begins with the €75 million payable to Napoli, plus a contractual clause granting the Italian club 10 per cent of any future resale. The second, and largest, component is the striker’s salary, set at €15 million net per year.
Factoring in taxes, that rises to around €28 million annually, and when multiplied over the four-year contract, it totals about €112 million.
“The second part – the wages of Osimhen. It’s at 15m net, that’s 28m a year. If you multiply it by four you are coming to 112 million. This has been the major problem for clubs trying to acquire Osimhen,” Oliseh added.