1. Victor James Osimhen was born on 29 December 1998 and is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Super Lig club Galatasaray, on loan from Serie A club Napoli, and the Nigeria national team.
43 Facts About Victor Osimhen
1. 2.
Victor Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won.
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Victor Osimhen made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023, reaching the final of the latter competition.
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Victor Osimhen is currently the second all-time highest goalscorer of the Nigeria national team.
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On 29 May 2023, Victor Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari.
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Victor Osimhen finished in eight place at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony, becoming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the French award.
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Victor Osimhen was named the African Footballer of the Year at the 2023 CAF Awards, the first Nigerian to receive this honour since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
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Victor Osimhen was born on 29 December 1998 in Lagos, Nigeria, the youngest of six siblings.
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Victor Osimhen's parents are from Edo State and are of the Esan ethnic group, but he refers himself to be part of Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria.
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Victor Osimhen started his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy, based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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In January 2016, after being noticed for his performances at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Victor Osimhen committed to a pre-contract with VfL Wolfsburg, stipulating that he would officially join the club in January 2017.
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On 5 January 2017, Victor Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, lasting until June 2020.
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Wolfsburg were again in the relegation playoff, but Victor Osimhen missed out through injury.
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Victor Osimhen had summer trials with Belgian clubs Zulte Waregem and Club Brugge, who were the reigning champions.
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On 22 August 2018, Victor Osimhen joined Belgian club Charleroi on a season-long loan deal, having failed to score in any of his 16 appearances with Wolfsburg.
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Victor Osimhen replaced the departed Kaveh Rezaei, who was sold to Club Brugge after scoring 3 goals in the first three games of the season.
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Victor Osimhen would start with Adama Niane for the next four games, scoring the club's only goal in losses to Cercle Brugge and Gent.
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Victor Osimhen finished the first half with 8 goals in 16 games, second only to Cristian Benavente in the team.
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Victor Osimhen was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September 2019, having scored two goals and assisted two more in Lille's five league matches.
20.
Victor Osimhen underwent immediate surgery and was forced to miss the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
21.
Victor Osimhen has been wearing a protective mask since due to risks posed by playing without it and he stated in an interview that he would play in it for the rest of his career, and by the end of the season, he scored 14 goals in Serie A and 18 in all competitions.
22.
Victor Osimhen became the first ever player in the history of Napoli in the three-point era to score in seven league games in a row.
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Victor Osimhen's goal made him the joint-highest goalscoring African in the Serie A alongside George Weah and the African player with the most goals in a single Italian championship season, breaking Samuel Eto'o's record in the process.
24.
Victor Osimhen finished the season as top scorer with 26 goals, to be the first African to achieve this feat.
25.
On 30 August 2024, it was reported that Victor Osimhen had agreed a deal with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli but the deal fell through after Napoli changed their asking price for his permanent transfer away.
26.
Victor Osimhen was a member of the Nigeria under-17 team that won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.
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Victor Osimhen scored 10 goals in seven games at the tournament and won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards.
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Victor Osimhen's performances earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015.
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Victor Osimhen missed out on Nigeria's 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign after his inconsistent season at Wolfsburg.
30.
In March 2019, Victor Osimhen was released from the Super Eagles squad to represent the Nigerian U23 side as they were two goals down against their Libyan opponent.
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Victor Osimhen scored three goals in the return match against Libya in Asaba.
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Victor Osimhen was listed in coach Gernot Rohr's 25-man provisional list for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt and was further listed in the final list for the tournament.
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Victor Osimhen played a total of 45 mins at the tournament.
34.
However, Victor Osimhen missed the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations supposedly due to COVID-19 as claimed by his club.
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Victor Osimhen started the qualification for the 2023 AFCON qualifiers in sparkling form helping Nigeria win both of their first two matches.
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Victor Osimhen is a right-footed centre-forward known for his physical presence, athleticism, strength, directness, runs into space, eye for goal and linkup play.
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Victor Osimhen is known for his close control inside the box.
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Victor Osimhen is widely regarded as one of the best centre-forwards and football players in European football.
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Victor Osimhen used to be compared to fellow young strikers Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, until he joined Turkish Super League.
40.
Opta Analyst wrote: "Among that early-prime age group, Victor Osimhen was arguably near the top".
41.
Victor Osimhen has named Didier Drogba as one of his influences and idol.
42.
Victor Osimhen has stated that he has drawn inspiration from Sadio Mane, who helps his community in Senegal, and has said he wants to help disabled people throughout Africa.
43.
Victor Osimhen announced the birth of his first child, a daughter named Haly, born in October 2022.