In this piece, Truetells Nigeria chronicles the biography, family, education, career and net worth of Victor Osimhen.
Photo of Victor Osimhen
Victor James Osimhen (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Nigerian national team.
Osimhen is one of the most lethal and prolific strikers for his club.
Victor Osimhen scored the most goals in a single U-17 World Cup with a whooping incredible 10 goals at #U17WC Chile 2015.
FAMILY
Osimhen was born in Lagos (but he grew up in Olusosun) to parents from Edo State. Growing up, his footballing idol was Didier Drogba.
Osimhen is reportedly dating Stephanie who he lives with in Naples.
CAREER
Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017.
Osimhen began his career at Lagos’ Ultimate Strikers Academy, where he remained until 2017.
In a friendly match in 2014, he made his debut for the U-17 team. On his debut, he scored two goals.
He attributed his accuracy and powerful style of playing to the inspiration he got from coach Amuneke of the U-17 team, during training.
In the 2015 CAF U-17 Championship in Niger, the Nigerian team scored seven goals, with Osimhen responsible for four of them.
The tournament gave him a breakthrough and he was called up for the U-17 World Cup held in Chile later that year, where he netted 10 goals, making him a record scorer in a single U-17 World Cup.
Top European teams trooped in to sign Osimhen after the tournament, with Wolfsburg winning the bid.
Osimhen signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club and made his debut with the German club against Borussia Monchengladbach in 2017.
After a half at the club, he moved to Charleroi in Belgium on loan in 2018–19, before moving to France at Lille.
Later in 2020, Osimhen became a record signing for Napoli from France for €70 million.
Osimhen is a member of the Super Eagles with proof of his dexterity as a prolific striker.
Osimhen made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo on June 1, 2017.
He has also represented the under-23 Nigerian teams where he bagged a brace in a 3-goal deficit of team against Libya in 2019.
He was also a member of the Super Eagle team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt.
CONTROVERSY
In April 2022, Nigeria football legend, Victor Ikpeba criticised Victor Osimhen for trying to take a bicycle kick in a World Cup qualifier match between Nigeria and Ghana.
In his words, Victor Ikpeba said “He’s still a young player but I hope that he can improve where he is in Napoli and help the national team in the future.
He needs to understand when to play the ball and when to play bicycle kicks.”
Osimhen in response clapped back at the legend through a Twitter post. He wrote “I go continue dey do am, no be that pundit go tell me Wetin to do…AGBAYA”
Reacting to Osimhen’s reply, Ikpeba said, “He’s still a young lad, I still love him. Victors are all like that.”
NET WORTH
Victor is one of the richest Super Eagles Players with an estimated net worth of £13,598,000.