Napoli President, De Laurentiis, Mocks Al-Hilal’s Bid for Osimhen

 *Says the club’s offer ‘good only for one foot of the Nigerian’

Femi Solaja  with agency report

With the Saudi Arabia summer transfer window coming to an end on Thursday, the quest of Al-Hilal to sign Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen, has taken a dramatic twist following claims by the Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, that his prized player is worth more than the Arabs are offering.

Saudi Arabian powerhouse, Al-Hilal, have aggressively been pursuing Osimhen to add to their list of top players in their fold this summer transfer window. 

The Saudi Pro League side became the front runners after European big clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich dropped their interests when it became clear Napoli were not ready to deal on the Nigerian this window.

Only PSG tabled a €100 million offer that the Serie A champions rejected.

Al-Hilal then out of the blues became the front-runners for Osimhen’s signature. They made two bids that raised the bar to €140 million. They also presented Osimhen with a salary package that would have made him the highest-earning African player in history. Nevertheless, Napoli turned down both offers. 

But in what appears a comical denouement yesterday, the Napoli president  was reported by France’s top medium, L’Équipe (as per Tutto Napoli), made light of the Saudi club’s proposals, even dismissing oral offers worth €200 million. 

De Laurentiis did not stop there; he went on to send a sarcastic email to the intermediaries representing the Saudi club, stating, “With your offering, you can only buy one foot of Osimhen. For next year, I think you will be able to offer 500 million, and we will probably consider your offer, but I emphasise ‘maybe’,” explained the Napoli owner. 

Osimhen, who scored 26 league goals last season, played a pivotal role in Napoli’s first Scudetto title in 33 years. The Super Eagles striker has already netted three goals in as many games for the Serie A champions.