Osimhen Is Not A €75M Player: The Real Cost Is €187M - And That Is Why Big Clubs Walked Away

For fans, football is passion. For clubs, football is business.

That single sentence from FIFA Technical Committee member Sunday Oliseh explains everything about the Victor Osimhen transfer saga.

For months, fans have been asking the same question: Why did Chelsea not sign him? Why is Arsenal afraid? Why did Manchester United look but refuse to touch him? Osimhen is a world-class striker, a Serie A winner, and a former African Footballer of the Year. Why did the big clubs run away?

Oliseh has now given the answer: Because Osimhen is not a €75m player. He is a €187m player.

Let us break it down like accountants.

1. THE TRANSFER FEE EVERYONE SAW: €75M

Napoli said: If you want Osimhen, bring €75 million.

That was just to take him out of Naples. It did not include anything else. And for Napoli, it did not end there. They also inserted a clause to collect 10% of any future resale. That means if you buy him for €75m today and sell him for €150m tomorrow, Napoli will still take their own share.

So already, the fee was not just €75m.

2. THE SALARY THAT KILLED THE DEAL: €15M NET = €28M GROSS

This is the real bomb.

Osimhen's salary is €15 million NET per year. NET means after tax, that is what enters his pocket clean.

But clubs do not pay net. Clubs pay gross plus tax. In Italy and many European countries, to give a player €15m clean, the club will spend around €28m per year.

Multiply that by four years:

€28m x 4 = €112 million for salary alone.

Oliseh said it clearly: "The wages of Osimhen. It is at 15m net, that is 28m a year. If you multiply it by four you are coming to 112 million. This has been the major problem for clubs trying to acquire Osimhen."

That is where the deal died.

3. DO THE MATH: €75M + €112M = €187M

Transfer fee: €75m

Salary for 4 years: €112m

Total: €187m

And we have not even added agent fees, signing bonus, loyalty bonus, image rights, and that 10% resale clause for Napoli.

That is why big clubs stepped back. It is not that they did not like Osimhen. It is that they calculated it and saw that one player would consume almost €200m of their budget.

For Chelsea, if they signed Osimhen, they would not be able to sign another striker, winger, or defender. For Arsenal, it would destroy their wage structure. Bukayo Saka earns around £300k per week, Osimhen would come and earn more than him. The dressing room would be scattered.

4. WHY GALATASARAY COULD DO IT

Galatasaray could do it because the Turkish tax system is different, and because Osimhen is their biggest business ever.

For Galatasaray, Osimhen is not just a striker. He is a brand. He is ticket sales. He is jersey sales. He is Champions League money. He is a Turkish record.

They paid the €75m, they gave him €15m net + €1m loyalty bonus + €5m image rights = €21m per season. And they still made their money back from merchandising which passed €85m in one season.

For big Premier League clubs, it did not make sense. For Galatasaray, it made perfect business sense.

5. THE LESSON FOR AFRICAN PLAYERS

The Osimhen case has taught every African player one lesson:

Your salary is not your price. Your total package is your price.

Clubs look at transfer fee + salary + tax + agent fees + bonuses. If your total package is too high, even if you are the best striker in the world, clubs will run away.

Osimhen did not reduce his salary. Chelsea offered him €4m base in 2024, he rejected it. Al-Hilal offered him €50m per year, he rejected it because he wanted legacy, not just cash.

He waited, he held his value, and Galatasaray paid him.

That is business. It is not emotion.

CONCLUSION: OSIMHEN IS NOT TOO EXPENSIVE, FOOTBALL HAS BECOME TOO EXPENSIVE

Osimhen is not the problem. Modern football is the problem.

When one player costs €187m to sign and keep, only a few clubs can afford him. And those few clubs will still think twice.

So next time you hear someone say "Osimhen cost €75m," correct them.

Tell them: "It is €187m. Go and ask Oliseh."

Do you think any Premier League club can still pay €187m for Osimhen? Or has Galatasaray already won the business war? Drop your opinion in the comments.