Napoli learn punishment after legal battle over Victor Osimhen transfer

Napoli will not face any sporting sanctions for their dubious signing of Victor Osimhen in 2020, despite renewed scrutiny of the case, according to Italian media.

The Nigerian superstar left the Serie A giants in the summer to complete a record-breaking €75 million transfer to Galatasaray after his season-long loan last term. Before moving to Istanbul, Osimhen had starred at Napoli for four years.

His transfer to Turkey was one of the biggest stories of the summer, but his initial move to Napoli in 2020 has also received renewed media attention in recent months.

That is because Napoli and Osimhen’s former club Lille have been accused of artificially inflating the value of his transfer five years ago. The Serie A club paid in excess of €70m for the striker, but it has since emerged that Lille had initially offered to sell him for €50m.

Napoli included three youth players and a rarely-used backup goalkeeper in the deal, thus boosting its value by a further €20m. However, these young players never actually featured for Lille and were eventually released by the club, raising suspicions over their true value.

Napoli already cleared of wrongdoing

The offices of Napoli and Lille were raided by police in 2022 to confiscate documents relating to Osimhen’s transfer, but the Italian federation had to clear high-ranking officials of any wrongdoing, as it could not be conclusively determined how to accurately calculate player values.

This case has received fresh media attention in recent months, and La Repubblica has been publishing WhatsApp messages from former Napoli and Lille directors, showing that they were well aware of the dangers attached to this dubious transfer.

However, AreaNapoli now reports that there is ‘zero risk’ of Napoli facing any sporting sanctions, such as a point deduction, over the matter. The Italian federation will not reopen the issue on a sporting level, having already cleared the club on that front.

Inquiries into the case are still ongoing, but these all relate to civil and accounting matters, and any potential consequences should have no immediate bearing on Napoli at a sporting level.

Football transfer news headlines today

Man Utd’s next signing revealed by Fabrizio Romano

Revealed: Maresca’s ‘favourite’ wonderkid at Chelsea

Man Utd’s €120m ‘secret deal’ EXPOSED: Bruno Fernandes exit funds double midfield swoop

Transfer insider tips Guehi for shock move after ‘decision made’

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store