Victor Osimhen
Active- Current or last club
- Galatasaray
- Country (nationality)
- Nigeria
- League or competition
- Süper Lig
- Position
- Striker
- How is the religion known?
- Reported by reputable media
- Last checked
- 8 October 2026
We list a player’s religion only where they have spoken about it publicly or it has been reliably reported, and we link our sources. If something is wrong, or a player’s views have changed, please tell us and we will review it.
Table of Contents
What religion is Victor Osimhen?
Victor Osimhen is a Nigerian professional footballer who is a devoted Christian. He was raised in a Christian household in Lagos, Nigeria, and has frequently spoken about how his faith in God guides his life and football career.
Osimhen has shared that during a challenging period after secondary school, he lived and worked at a Christ Embassy church in Nigeria, where he received crucial mentorship, shelter, and financial support from the community and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. He reveals that before games, he consistently listens to gospel music and prays in his hotel room to put the match in God’s hands.
Although some fans have occasionally questioned his religion online because he sometimes uses expressions like “Insha’Allah” or “Alhamdulillah” out of respect and goodwill, his official and personal stance remains strictly Christian.
Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Victor Osimhen plays for the Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Nigeria national football team. Previously, he had played for the football clubs VfL Wolfsburg (2017–2019), Charleroi (2019), Lille (2019–2020), Napoli (2020–2025), and Galatasaray (2025–). Among his career accomplishments, Osimhen won the Serie A title with Napoli in 2023, won a domestic double while on loan at Galatasaray in 2025, and went on to claim a second consecutive Turkish Süper Lig title in 2026 after joining the club on a permanent basis.
Turkish contract
Victor Osimhen is currently under a contract that reportedly runs until June 2029, following his €75 million permanent move to Galatasaray in 2025. The deal is structured as an initial €40 million upfront payment, with the remaining €35 million split into subsequent installments. His base pay at Galatasaray stood around €384,615 per week and about €20 million per year. This base pay is topped up by a guaranteed €1 million yearly loyalty bonus and a €5 million annual payment for his image rights.
The contract also includes strict rules about his future moves. Napoli keeps a 10 percent sell-on clause on any profit made from a future sale. Furthermore, the deal included an “anti-Italy clause,” which prevents Galatasaray from selling Osimhen to any Italian club for the first two years of the deal. If this rule is broken before September 2027, it carries a severe penalty of at least €70 million.
Early life
Victor James Osimhen was born on December 29, 1998, in Lagos, Nigeria, as the youngest of seven children. His father, Patrick, came from Edo State, and his mother, Christiana, was from Delta State. After his mother passed away and his father lost his job, Osimhen sold bottled and sachet water in heavy Lagos traffic to help his family survive.
Osimhen was educated at Olusosun Primary School and later joined Ultimate Strikers Academy, a local football academy in Lagos, where his skills were nurtured and eventually led to his discovery by national team scouts. His big breakthrough happened in 2015 when he made Nigeria’s squad for the Under-17 World Cup in Chile and subsequently scored a record-breaking 10 goals to finish as the tournament’s top scorer and help Nigeria win the world title.
Club career
In January 2016, Osimhen agreed to a pre-contract with German club Wolfsburg. He officially joined the team in January 2017 on a three-and-a-half-year deal. However, bad injuries slowed down his progress in Germany. He made his Bundesliga debut as a late substitute that May, and his first start came the following January against Hannover. A major shoulder surgery in May 2018 ended his season early. He finished his time at Wolfsburg with zero goals in just 14 league matches.
Osimhen joined Belgian side Charleroi on a season-long loan in August 2018. He quickly found his form in Belgium and scored his first professional goal with a brilliant backheel against Waasland-Beveren that September. He went on to enjoy a fantastic season, finishing with 20 goals in 36 games. Thanks to this great scoring run, Charleroi immediately triggered their option to sign him on a permanent deal.
Lille
Lille signed Osimhen from Charleroi in August 2019 on a five-year contract for a reported fee of around €12 million. The deal also included another €3 million in performance bonuses. He started brilliantly by scoring two goals on his Ligue 1 debut against Nantes. He repeated the feat against Saint-Étienne soon after to win the league’s Player of the Month award for September 2019.
Data from that same season showed he was the fastest player in France. He regularly broke the 35 km/h speed barrier ahead of even Kylian Mbappé. Osimhen finished his only season in France as Lille’s top scorer with 18 goals across all competitions. His amazing performances won him the club’s Player of the Season trophy. He also picked up the prestigious Marc-Vivien Foé award as the best African player in French football.
Napoli
On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced the signing of Osimhen for a club-record fee of €70 million, potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons, making him the second most expensive African transfer to date. He scored his first Napoli goal that October against Atalanta. He celebrated by holding up a shirt to call for an end to police brutality in Nigeria. However, his early years in Italy were slowed down by a bad shoulder injury and a COVID-19 infection.
In November 2021, Osimhen suffered a fractured skull and a broken eye socket during a tough match against Inter Milan. The injury required face surgery and forced him to miss the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. He has worn his famous black protective mask ever since. He has stated that he plans to wear it for the rest of his career. Despite the setback, he finished that season with 18 goals in all competitions.
His finest year came during the legendary 2022–23 season. Osimhen scored 26 league goals to finish as the top scorer in Serie A, setting a new record for an African player. His incredible goalscoring form helped Napoli win their first Italian league title in 33 years. He also passed George Weah to become the highest-scoring African player in Serie A history. These achievements won him the league’s Best Striker award and the Serie A Footballer of the Year trophy.
In December 2023, Osimhen signed a contract extension with a new €130 million buyout clause. Transfer rumors grew heavily the next summer. Clubs like Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Al-Ahli all tried to sign him. However, his big move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli fell through because Napoli demanded too much money, and a late deal with Chelsea also collapsed. Napoli responded by completely dropping him from their official league squad and giving his number 9 shirt to new signing Romelu Lukaku.
Galatasaray
Galatasaray signed Osimhen on loan from Napoli in September 2024. He scored twice on his league debut against Kasımpaşa and kept scoring at an incredible rate all season, including two goals against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League. In May 2025, he scored twice in the Turkish Cup final win over Trabzonspor. This took his season total to 35 goals in 39 matches, which set a new record for a foreign player in Turkish football. His goals helped Galatasaray win the domestic double as they also lifted the Süper Lig title, and he finished as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals.
On July 31, 2025, Galatasaray made his transfer permanent, and they signed Osimhen to a four-year contract after paying a net fee of €75 million to Napoli, marking the highest transfer fee in Turkish football history. He carried his amazing form right into the next season. In November 2025, he scored a brilliant hat-trick against Ajax in the Champions League. This performance made him only the second Galatasaray player ever to score a Champions League hat-trick. The goals also made him Nigeria’s all-time top scorer in European competitions.
In January 2026, Osimhen became the fastest player in club history to reach 50 goals, hitting the milestone in just 59 games. He suffered a serious arm injury during a Champions League match against Liverpool in March 2026. However, he showed great strength by returning that April to score against rivals Fenerbahçe. His vital goals helped Galatasaray win another Süper Lig title in May 2026.
Nigerian national team
In June 2017, Osimhen made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 2–0 loss against South Africa. He missed the 2018 World Cup because of a tough club season in Germany. However, he became a regular player for the Super Eagles from 2019 onward and played at that year’s Africa Cup of Nations. He missed the 2021 tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. This situation caused a lot of anger in Nigeria toward his club, Napoli, who some felt wanted to keep him from traveling.
He played a massive role in leading Nigeria to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. He finished as the top scorer in the qualifiers for that tournament with 10 goals. This impressive run included scoring two separate hat-tricks against São Tomé and Príncipe. In March 2025, Osimhen became Nigeria’s second-highest goalscorer of all time.
He scored a brilliant hat-trick against Benin in October 2025 to send Nigeria into the World Cup qualification playoffs. He then scored twice in extra time during a playoff semi-final win over Gabon. Sadly, he was forced off with an injury in the playoff final, which Nigeria lost on penalties to DR Congo. He recovered in time to be named to the Nigeria squad for the recent 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored four goals during the tournament as Nigeria finished third, securing the bronze medal.
Personal life
Osimhen and his partner, Stefanie Kim Ladewig, joyfully welcomed their first child, a daughter named Haly, in October 2022.
In May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, one of Nigeria’s national honors, and also holds the Order of the Niger (OON) distinction.
