Aurelio De Laurentiis, president and owner of Napoli, disclosed that Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen will leave Napoli this summer to join either Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, or a club in England, as per statements made on Friday.
De Laurentiis’s comments came in response to an interview Osimhen, currently representing Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, gave to CBS, where he indicated he had already decided on his next career move.
Despite Osimhen signing a contract extension with Napoli in December, which reportedly includes a release clause ranging from €120 million to €130 million, De Laurentiis expressed no surprise, stating that preparations for Osimhen’s departure had been underway since last summer.
Acknowledging Osimhen’s impressive performance as Serie A’s top scorer last season, aiding Napoli to their first league title since 1990, De Laurentiis affirmed the club’s awareness of Osimhen’s potential departure.
“We’ve been aware of this since last summer, which is why negotiations for his contract extension, though amicable, took considerable time,” stated De Laurentiis, emphasizing Osimhen’s likely destinations.
Having joined Napoli from Lille in 2020 and amassing 67 goals in 119 appearances across all competitions, Osimhen’s departure marks a significant loss for the struggling Napoli side, currently ninth in the league standings and eliminated from the Italian Cup.
Regarding managerial changes, De Laurentiis ruled out the possibility of hiring Jose Mourinho as Napoli’s future coach, despite Mourinho’s recent availability following his departure from Roma in mid-January.
“Mourinho at Napoli is not on the agenda,” De Laurentiis said.
“He’s a great coach, very likeable, part of the history of a certain kind of soccer.
“His destiny will undoubtedly take him out of Italy, at least not to Naples,” De Laurentiis concluded.
Ada Peter
