Featured Image Credit: Getty/TV Spor
Topics: Victor Osimhen, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Jose Mourinho, Napoli
Matthew Holt
Topics: Victor Osimhen, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Jose Mourinho, Napoli
Jose Mourinho says he has a slight issue with the way Victor Osimhen often conducts himself on the pitch.
Osimhen, 25, was exiled by former club Napoli after attempting to leave the club for Chelsea earlier this summer.
The Blues were unable to agree a deal for the Nigeria international after plans were initially made for him to join the club on loan.
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Since then, Turkish giants Galatasaray have swooped in to secure Osimhen's services, doing so until the end of the current campaign.
Mourinho, currently in charge of bitter rivals Fenerbahce, has outlined his discontent over the transfer, slamming the play style of the 25-year-old forward in the process.
"Osimhen is a fantastic player," the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ said recently in an interview with HT Spor.
"He is a player that if I was in a club with the potential to pay 70 to 75 million, I would buy.
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"He’s a fantastic player [but] of course, he comes in different circumstances but in the end the circumstances don’t matter.
"What matters is Galatasaray got an absolutely fantastic player."
"I don’t have problems with Victor. In fact, we have a very good relationship," the Portuguese manager added.
"But every time I play against him I speak with him because I don’t like the way he behaves, he dives too much.
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"The last time we played, Roma against Napoli, we had this conversation.
"I told him, 'Look, you are one of the two best African players – it’s you and [Mohamed] Salah'.
"In the past Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, George Weah, you cannot behave like this.
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"He dives too much, that’s my problem with him. But after ten minutes, we are fine. We have a very good relationship.
"For the Turkish league it is fantastic and for Galatasaray it is fantastic too."
There is no doubt Osimhen's move to Turkey is a huge coup for the country regarding their own hopes to elevate the Super Lig.
The talented striker scored a whopping 76 goals in 133 appearances for Napoli, winning the Serie A title back in 2022/23.
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Osimhen also finished in eighth place at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony, becoming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the prestigious France Football award.