How did Victor Osimhen miss this?

Loyalty, stupidity or behind the scenes shenanigans from Napoli? How exactly did Victor Osimhen miss a big pay day at Saudi Arabia?

First things first, before we put things into perspective, it is paramount to establish that Victor Osimhen is a Nigerian and a footballer, and football as much as it has its upsides, is a short-term career with nothing guarantied aside what a player fights for. And even that, most times isn’t enough.

Napoli’s prolific striker Victor Osimhen was on the brink of a life-changing move to Al Ahli before the deal sensationally fell through on UK Deadline Day. If the deal had gone through, Osimhen could have been pocketing a jaw-dropping £500,000 per week—almost 10 times his current salary at Napoli and could have secured a big pay day and his future post football.

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This astronomical figure comes into focus as Al Ahli quickly pivoted to sign Ivan Toney, making the Brentford star one of the highest-paid English players with a similar pay package. But what if Osimhen had made the switch instead?

The Saudi Pro League club were planning to go big and go broke with the Nigerian if the reports were right, and judging from the Nigerian forward’s goal-scoring prowess and international appeal, there was the possibility that he might have commanded even more in bonuses and performance incentives, potentially pushing his earnings beyond the half-a-million mark weekly.

With a €40 million transfer fee set aside for Toney, it’s clear that Al Ahli was ready to invest heavily. For Victor Osimhen, whose market value far exceeds that of Toney, the Saudi club could have easily broken the bank, setting new financial records.

Imagine Victor Osimhen enjoying tax-free earnings, where his take-home pay in Saudi Arabia would be equivalent to a £1 million per week salary in the UK! This all the more raises the question; what really happened at Napoli or with Victor Osimhen?

While Ivan Toney is now counting his millions, Osimhen is left to wonder what could have been—had he made the leap to Saudi Arabia instead.