By our reporter 20.11.2025
Football transfer agent George Gardi believes Turkish champions Galatasaray where fortunate to have signed one of the best strikers in the world for just €75m.
Gardi who was central to the deal that saw Osimhen making a permanent move to Galatasaray in the summer, said the striker was worth more than Galatasaray paid for him.
Napoli wanted to sell him to a big European club or even a move to Saudi Arabia so that they could get more money, but the top Premier League clubs linked to the player during the summer transfer window did not show up.
Besides according to Gardi, Osimhen made up his mind to return to Galatasaray after his loan deal expired.
“At the end of the market last summer, I called the coach and the club to propose this player, and they thought it was a joke,” Gardi told Sky Sports Deutschland during an interview.
“They did not take me seriously. Victor Osimhen, one of the best strikers in the world, why would he come to Galatasaray at 26 years old? Why would Napoli give him?”
Gardi said when no big offers came, he convinced Napoli to reduce the release clause reported to be around €110m.
“When the market finished and other deals collapsed, I stepped in and I had a clear plan. I had a few hours to execute the plan.
“I decreased the release clause from Napoli, which was over €100m, to €75m. I convinced Victor to extend the contract for one more year and open the doors to a loan move.”
Gardi admits that Napoli were left to regret some of their decisions regarding Osimhen, as the €75m release clause seemed to be insufficient in hindsight.
“He had a strong determination to come to Gala from the beginning, he had great respect for the club. After one year, when the clause was at €75m, this summer market was not the €75m of last summer.
“This is one of the best Number 9s in the world, perhaps one of the best, so to buy him at €75m was a good financial operation for the club.
“This negotiation also lasted many months, because Victor had to decide where he wanted to play. He could choose among the best clubs in the world, only some of them came out in the press, but there were many more.
“He took his decision around the beginning of July, and the clause was ending at the beginning of July, so when the clause expired suddenly, they received offers €10-15m higher than the clause.
“Victor was very strong, and he said I am only going to play with Gala. That helped us a lot in the negotiations. They did an unbelievable job to find €75m to pay Napoli in one year, we made history to bring one of the best strikers in the world to Galatasaray at the peak of his career.”