Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has revealed why Victor Osimhen could not join Chelsea after a dragging transfer saga.
Amidst all other clubs that wanted the player, it was Chelsea and Al-Ahli that were still standing in the final minutes but unfortunately a deal could not be brokered.
Al-Ahli submitted a €25m annual salary offer to Osimhen after agreeing terms with Napoli for €80m. Chelsea reached agreement with Napoli on a loan deal with obligation to buy but could not agree terms with Osimhen on the player’s expected wages.
Osimhen was reportedly open to Saudi move but only if he could not reach agreement with Chelsea. So, he held off his consent on the Al-Ahli offer, who were ahead of Chelsea in the race.
After failed talks with the Blues, the deal finally collapsed. The door to a possible move to Al-Ahli was also shut after the club signed Ivan Toney from Brentford leaving no room for another foreign player in the team due to Saudi quota rule.
Osimhen would later hustle a late transfer to Galatasaray on loan after he found no way back to the Napoli squad following the transfer deadlock.
There have been multiple claims on why Osimhen’s potential move to Chelsea collapsed in the last hours.
Mikel Obi reveals why Victor Osimhen to Chelsea move collapsed
Former Nigeria international Mikel Obi, who mediated the negotiation between Chelsea and the player, has come to shed light on what actually transpired.
Speaking on his Obi One Podcast, Mikel Obi said:
”I hear a lot of people saying this and saying that about Victor and and how greedy he is, blah, blah, blah. ‘Take a pay cut and come to Chelsea’ blah, blah, blah, stuff like that.
”I know the kid. I know the boy. I just want to say that that is absolutely not true. Victor is not a greedy boy. He’s not a greedy guy, he only wants to get what he deserves and that’s not a problem.’
”No, he wasn’t asking for all this bt,’ added Mikel. ‘I know what happened, I was in the midst of everything. So I can tell everybody that is definitely not true.”
Watch full video below:
Osimhen sacked his agent Roberto Calenda after the failed move to Chelsea and joined Galatasaray on loan till the end of the campaign.
Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray contract details
The two parties have reportedly agreed to a break clause in the loan deal on January 2024 which could see the player end the loan deal and sign for another club.
Galatasaray have agreed to cover a part of his salary. Further details of the loan deal reveal Arsenal, PSG, and Chelsea are among 10 clubs Osimhen has listed as his possible destination if the break clause is activated in January.
While Obi did not disclose Chelsea’s offer that turned off the player, a leaked report from Sportbible reveals Chelsea offered Osimhen €4m every year which was almost three times less than what he earned at Napoli (€11m).
Meanwhile, there were also reports that Osimhen wanted as much as €500,000 weekly before he dropped to €325,000. The worst part of the transfer saga for the Nigerian footballer was how Napoli reacted to the deadlock.
The 2022-23 Serie A champions weren’t ready to take in the player again with close sources claiming the relationship between Napoli and Osimhen has broken down completely.
