Victor Osimhen
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Osimhen with Nigeria in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Victor James Osimhen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lagos State, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Galatasaray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2017 | 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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2025 | Napoli | 108 | (65) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 30 | (26) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Galatasaray | 18 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Nigeria U17 | 13 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Nigeria U23 | 4 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Nigeria | 52 | (35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:00, 7 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:30, 14 January 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Victor James Osimhen MFR MON (born 29 December 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and is the vice-captain of the Nigeria national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. Osimhen is known for his explosive pace, physical strength, aerial ability, and clinical finishing.
Born in Nigeria, Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017. 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 €80 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 in 33 years. For his efforts, he won the league's Best Striker award, prior to 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. Osimhen was loaned to Turkish side Galatasaray ahead of the 2024–25 season, where he finished as the league's top scorer and won a domestic double.
Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. He made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, 2023 and 2025, reaching the final of the 2023 competition. He is currently the second all-time highest goalscorer of the Nigeria national team. On 29 May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari.
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. 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.