Osimhen intermediary reveals Napoli regret at 75m Galatasaray deal

Transfer mediator George Gardi explains how he had to ‘convince’ Victor Osimhen to join Galatasaray, why Napoli got short-changed at €75m and clubs who offered €10-15m more than the release clause.

It was a real surprise when the Nigeria international made the move to Galatasaray on loan in September 2024, when the Turkish transfer window was the only one still open.

Napoli had tried to negotiate sales to Premier League and Saudi Pro League teams, but without success, and would otherwise have found themselves stuck with an unhappy player.

When the loan expired in June 2025, Galatasaray sealed an agreement to buy Osimhen outright for €75m, and it was Gardi at the centre of those negotiations.

Gardi spoke to Sky Sports Deutschland about those deals and revealed the extent of his influence.

“At the end of the market last summer, I called the coach and the club to propose this player, and they thought it was a joke,” confessed the representative.

“They did not take me seriously. Victor Osimhen, one of the best strikers in the world, why would he come to Galatasaray at 26 years old? Why would Napoli give him?

“It was towards the end of the market. People say luck, chance, but it was no luck, no chance. It happened with Icardi, it happened with Davinson Sanchez, it happened with Zaniolo, all these players arrived at the end of the market.

“All these big players are monitored by me. The last days of the market anything can happen, some details in contracts can get cancelled.

“When the market finished and other deals collapsed, I stepped in and I had a clear plan. I had a few hours to execute the plan.”

Osimhen had signed a new contract with Napoli with a release clause reported to be around €110m and a huge salary, although the Partenopei went into that summer believing he would be sold a few months later.

When nobody came in with the necessary figure, he was stuck and this is when Gardi proposed him to Galatasaray.

“I decreased the release clause from Napoli, which was over €100m, to €75m. I convinced Victor to extend the contract for one more year, and open the doors to a loan move.

“There were many problems, we were at the airport and the UEFA lists were closing the day after, there were problems with the contract at Napoli, he was not sure whether to leave or not, and I convinced him to come.

“I was thinking to myself, what happens if he doesn’t come now? There were thousands of people already waiting in Istanbul and those were the longest two hours of my football career.”

Gardi admits that Napoli were left to regret some of their decisions regarding Osimhen, as the €75m release clause seemed to be insufficient in hindsight.

“He had a strong determination to come to Gala from the beginning, he had great respect for the club. After one year, when the clause was at €75m, this summer market was not the €75m of last summer.

“Napoli had thought it was a big amount at the time, but the market completely changed this summer. If you look at the transactions in the market, many were much higher than €75m.

“This is one of the best Number 9s in the world, perhaps one of the best, so to buy him at €75m was a good financial operation for the club,” added Gardi.

“This negotiation also lasted many months, because Victor had to decide where he wanted to play. He could choose among the best clubs in the world, only some of them came out in the press, but there were many more.

“He took his decision around the beginning of July and the clause was ending at the beginning of July, so when the clause expired suddenly they received offers €10-15m higher than the clause.

“Victor was very strong and he said I am only going to play with Gala. That helped us a lot in the negotiations. They did an unbelievable job to find €75m to pay Napoli in one year, we made history to bring one of the best strikers in the world to Galatasaray at the peak of his career.”