The confirmation that Napoli ‘already knew’ Victor Osimhen would leave at the end of this season fits with the way President Aurelio De Laurentiis has always done business.
The patron spoke to reporters today and confirmed what many fans had already feared.
“We’ve known it since last summer; otherwise, the negotiation to extend would not have been so long. We already knew he would join Real Madrid, PSG or a Premier League club.”
Osimhen only signed a new contract on December 23 that will now run to June 2026 and vastly increases the Nigerian striker’s salary.
This contract was a financial masterclass from De Laurentiis, as it was signed on December 23, just days before the Growth Decree – allowing clubs to save up to 75 per cent on taxes for salaries – was scrapped.
It also includes a release clause, although the exact details have not yet been confirmed, rumoured to be €120-130m.
This would still generate a huge profit for the Partenopei, who purchased Osimhen from Lille for €75m plus bonuses in the summer of 2020.
It would be the second time that Napoli have used a release clause to sell on a star name for a massive profit, having done exactly the same with South Korea international Kim Min-jae.
The defender was snapped up from Fenerbahce for €18m in July 2022 and sold a year later for the €50m release clause to Bayern Munich.
Napoli have long used release clauses in their contracts and one incident prompted them to put down certain barriers on them, as Juventus activated the clause to sign Gonzalo Higuain for €90m in 2016.
Ever since then, the clauses in the Napoli deals have excluded other Italian clubs, so as to avoid reinforcing their direct rivals.
Calciomercato Napoli, De Laurentiis: “Addio Osimhen? Lo sapevamo dalla scorsa estate”#SkySport #SkyCalciomercato #Calciomercato #Napoli #ADL https://t.co/XnwpHjPnPB
— skysport (@SkySport) January 26, 2024