Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has told Saudi club Al-Hilal that he would only consider an offer of €500m for Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
De Laurentiis was one of the few in Europe willing to reject a lucrative Saudi offer this summer and he sent a mocking response to Al-Hilal’s proposal for Osimhen.
A long list of clubs across Europe accepted rich proposals from various Saudi Arabian clubs this summer, cashing in on their stars like Gabri Veiga and Riyadh Mahrez as well as offloading their unwanted players like Edouard Mendy and Franck Kessie.
A handful of top stars rejected Saudi offers this summer including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, making Victor Osimhen the dream transfer of many Saudi Pro League clubs. Al-Hilal sent Napoli a €200m offer but it was rejected, keeping the striker in Campania.
Al-Hilal’s €40m per year wages proposal made Osimhen think twice about joining Saudi Arabia and it was reported in Italy that his family wanted him to make the move.
According to L’Equipe via TMW, De Laurentiis never considered accepting Al-Hilal’s lucrative offer for Osimhen, a position he made clear in his response.
The Napoli president sent an email to Al-Hilal representatives with a mocking reply, writing, “Your €200m offer can buy a single foot of Osimhen. For next year, I think you’ll be able to offer €500m and we’ll probably consider your offer, but I’ll repeat myself: maybe.”
The Nigerian international was arguably one of Europe’s very best centre-forward last season, scoring 31 goals in 39 games for Luciano Spalletti’s side.
Under the guidance of newly-appointed Napoli manager Rudi Garcia, Osimhen has already found the back of the net three times in as many games with the Serie A champions. (Punch)
