Victor Osimhen

Victor Osimhen
Osimhen with Nigeria in 2024
Personal information
Full name Victor James Osimhen[1]
Date of birth (1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Napoli
Number 9
Youth career
Ultimate Strikers Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 VfL Wolfsburg 14 (0)
2018–2019 → Charleroi (loan) 25 (12)
2019 Charleroi 0 (0)
2019–2020 Lille 27 (13)
2020– Napoli 108 (65)
International career‡
2015 Nigeria U17 7 (10)
2015–2019 Nigeria U23 4 (3)
2017– Nigeria 35 (21)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up 2023 Ivory Coast
Third place 2019 Egypt
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner 2015 Chile
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:33, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:31, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Victor James Osimhen MON MFR (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Nigeria national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his elite finishing, pace, strength and athleticism.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017.[9] Following a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian side Charleroi on loan in 2018–19, before moving to Ligue 1 with Lille, scoring eighteen goals in his sole season with the French club.

In 2020, Osimhen transferred to Serie A side Napoli for a club-record fee of €70 million, and won the Serie A Best Young Player award in the 2021–22 season. In the following campaign, he finished as the league's top scorer with 26 goals, a record-high for an African player, as he helped Napoli win a first Serie A title for 33 years. For his efforts, he won the league's Best Striker award, before also being named Serie A Footballer of the Year a few months later. Osimhen is currently the highest scoring African player in the history of Serie A.[10][11]

Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won.[12] He made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023, reaching the final of the latter tournament. He is currently the joint-third all-time highest goalscorer of the Nigeria national team.[13] On 29 May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari.[14]

Osimhen finished in eighth place at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony, becoming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the French award.[15] He was also named the African Footballer of the Year at the 2023 CAF Awards, the first Nigerian to receive this honour since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.[16]

  1. ^ "Nigeria" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 15 June 2019. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Victor Osimhen". WorldFootball.net. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  3. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Blight, Garry; Clarke, Seán; Bloor, Steven; Duncan, Pamela. "The 100 best male footballers in the world 2023". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  4. ^ "The 25 best strikers in world football – ranked". 90min. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Osimhen 'the best striker in Serie A' – AS Roma legend Totti praises Nigeria international". Goal.com. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Lukaku: Osimhen 'the best striker' right now – Belgium striker sings Nigeria international's praises". Goal.com. 1 January 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  7. ^ Lewis, Aimee (18 February 2023). "Victor Osimhen: Is the Napoli star the world's best striker?". CNN. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ Acho, Affa (23 December 2023). "FULL LIST: Osimhen, Boniface Listed Among Top 100 Best Footballers In The World". Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ^ "13 facts about Victor Osimhen". Goal.com. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Osimhen equals Goerge Weah and surpasses Eto'o to create Serie A history". Pulse Sports. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Victor Osimhen Biography, Net Worth, Salary, Stats, Age, Height, Parents, Siblings, Girlfriend". NewsOnline Newspaper. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  12. ^ Uzodinma, Emmanuel (9 November 2015). "FIFA U-17 World Cup: Osimhen wins Golden Boot, Nwakali emerges MVP". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  13. ^ "How many goals has Osimhen scored for Nigeria?". Goal.com. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Full List Special Nigeria National Honours Awards 2023". Premium Times NG. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  15. ^ "2023 Ballon d'Or: Victor Osimhen Ranked 8th Best Player". Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  16. ^ Adewale, Abiodun (11 December 2023). "Osimhen breaks 24-year Nigeria jinx, claims CAF POTY award". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 12 December 2023.