Napoli Faces Fresh Scandal Over Victor Osimhen’s Transfer From Lille After Leaked Emails
- Napoli and Lille could be in trouble over Victor Osimhen’s transfer in 2020 after leaked emails suggest foul play
- Napoli paid a reported club record fee to sign the Super Eagles forward from the French Ligue 1 club in 2020
- The Italian champions sold the Nigerian forward to Turkish club Galatasaray last summer after a loan spell
Napoli and Lille could be in a new scandal after leaked emails suggest discrepancies in the deal that moved Victor Osimhen from France to Italy in 2020.
Osimhen joined LOSC Lille from Belgian club Royal Charleroi in the summer of 2019 and scored 18 goals in all competitions before the coronavirus truncated the season.
Source: Getty Images
Napoli moved to sign him that summer and paid a club record €70 million to the French club, a deal which raised concerns with the Italian authorities.
In 2021, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) began an investigation into a case of false accounting about the deal as part of a probe into 62 transfers and profit declaration.
Napoli included four players in the deal, including goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis and academy stars Luigi Liguori, Claudio Manzi, and Ciro Palmieri.
According to Football Italia, none of the youngsters debuted for the French club, with Liguori claiming that he had never been to Lille in 2021, which raised eyebrows.
Napoli were cleared of wrongdoing in the incident, but the case has been reopened multiple times, including the police searching Aurelio De Laurentiis’ office.
Osimhen repaid Napoli's investment, scoring 76 goals and providing a further 18 assists in 133 matches, helping the club win the Italian Serie A title in the 2022/23 season.
He left the club in acrimonious terms in the summer of 2024, joining Galatasaray on loan before making the deal permanent for €75 million in 2025.
Napoli faces fresh scandal over Osimhen
The investigation into Napoli's capital gains between 2019 and 2021, which included the €70 million deal for Osimhen from Lille, may have taken a new twist.
FIGC has previously closed the investigation, and Napoli faced no points deduction, but a recent exposé from an Italian newspaper could spell trouble.
La Repubblica disclosed details of the negotiation, which included emails exchanged between two former Napoli directors, Cristian Guintoli and his vice Giuseppe Pompilio.
Source: Getty Images
Guintoli warned Pompilio not to write anything that will leave traces in emails and should say whatever he wants to say in person.
Another email exchanged between Lille president Gerard Lopez and Napoli showed that both parties did not discuss price in an attempt to protect the agreement and not “make us look bad”.
It has yet to be established what step the FIGC will take against Napoli and De Laurentiis after the emergence of new incriminating evidence.
Galatasaray sue Turkish doctor over Osimhen comment
Legit.ng reported that Galatasaray instigated legal action against a Turkish doctor over his claims that Victor Osimhen is suffering from a serious illness.
Former referee and broadcaster Ahmet Cakar, who claimed he received information about the striker's condition from the Ministry of Health, will face legal action.
Source: Legit.ng
