Victor Osimhen has revealed that he felt pressured into joining Napoli in 2020 while his father was gravely ill, claiming that agents and club officials pushed through the transfer without his consent
In a testimony to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, leaked by La Repubblica, the Nigerian striker said he never saw a draft of his contract and felt sidelined during negotiations led by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis and Lille officials.
Osimhen’s move from Lille to Napoli in the summer of 2020 was one of Europe’s biggest transfers but also one of its most controversial. His testimony comes amid a Rome-based probe into alleged false accounting connected to the €70 million deal.
“My previous agent, Jean Gerard, was only focused on the transfer and not on my father’s health. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about football; I just wanted to know how he was doing,” Osimhen told authorities.
He explained that during a meeting in Nice with Gerard, Lille president Gerard Lopez, and Luis Campos, he was told the move to Napoli was already agreed in principle and that it was a good opportunity for Lille during the pandemic—but he had no prior knowledge of this.
Tragically, Osimhen’s father passed away during the negotiations, leaving the striker frustrated that he could not see him in his final days. “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 anger, Osimhen traveled to Naples, where he met the coach and De Laurentiis, who explained the club’s project. However, he had still not received any formal contract, and when he requested a draft from his agent, he was handed only a “pseudo-agreement.” Feeling misled, he considered returning to France but eventually cut ties with Gerard and hired William D’Avila as his new representative.
The deal was finally signed in Lille at the end of July 2020, in the presence of Napoli officials, Lille executives, and Osimhen’s new agent.
The transfer is now under scrutiny as prosecutors investigate alleged financial irregularities, including claims that Napoli and Lille inflated the value of lesser-known players to meet financial regulations. La Repubblica reports that Osimhen was initially valued at €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 face renewed legal scrutiny as prosecutors consider whether officials, including De Laurentiis and Chiavelli, should stand trial over the alleged accounting manipulations surrounding the striker’s transfer.
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