Napoli’s President Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed Victor Osimhen’s departure from the club at the end of the season, dismissing any possibility of Jose Mourinho joining as coach.
Osimhen, representing Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations, disclosed to CBS Sports his decision regarding his career’s next phase. De Laurentiis revealed, “We anticipated Osimhen’s potential destinations including Real Madrid, Paris St Germain, or an English team.”
Osimhen’s pivotal role last season, clinching Napoli’s first league title in 33 years with 26 goals, underscores his impact since joining for a club-record fee of 70 million euros.
His recent contract extension includes a release clause ranging between 120 and 130 million euros.
Recall that Wuzup Nigeria reported that Osimhen had already hinted his exit from Napoli in a recent interview with CBS Sports. He said, “At the end of the season, I think I already made up my mind. I already know what I wanna do with my career, since I’ve started, I’ve been the one taking my own decision and everything is working out well for me.
“Even though when I started it, it didn’t go so well as planned. But I already have my plan, I already know what I want to do, the next step I want to take. So for now I just want to finish the season strong, go relax somewhere with my daughter, and then finally come up with the decision I’ve already made.”
Napoli’s president, De Laurentiis, also debunks rumors about Mourinho’s link to Napoli, emphasizing the coach’s probable future beyond Italy.
Mourinho’s departure from AS Roma triggered speculations, with interests from Saudi Arabia and Napoli, but De Laurentiis affirmed, “Mourinho’s destiny is unlikely to be at Napoli.”
