Victor James Osimhen MFR born 29 December 1998 in Lagos to parents from Edo State, Osimhen is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Napoli and the Nigeria national team. Considered one of the best strikers in the world, he is known for his elite finishing, pace, strength and athleticism.

Victor Osimhen Football Career

Osimhen began his senior career in Germany at VfL Wolfsburg in 2017. Following a season and a half at the club, he moved to Belgian side Charleroi on loan in 2018–19, before moving to Ligue 1 with Lille, scoring eighteen goals in his sole season with the French club.

In 2020, Osimhen transferred to Serie A side Napoli for a club-record fee of €70 million, and won the Serie A Best Young Player award in the 2021–22 season. In the following campaign, he finished as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals, a record-high for an African player, as he helped Napoli win a first Serie A title for 33 years. For his efforts, he won the league’s Best Striker award, before also being named Serie A Footballer of the Year a few months later. Osimhen is currently the highest scoring African player in the history of Serie A.

Osimhen won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. He made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023. He is currently the joint-third all-time highest goalscorer of the Nigeria national team. On 29 May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osimhen finished in eighth place at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, becaming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the French award. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year at the 2023 CAF Awards, the first Nigerian to receive this honour since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.

Osimhen is a Christian, He has stated that he has drawn inspiration from Sadio Mané, who helps his community in Senegal, and has said he wants to help disabled people throughout Africa. Osimhen announced the birth of his first child, a daughter named Haly, born October 2022.