Galatasaray president Dursun Ozbek has shut down all speculation over Victor Osimhen’s future, declaring the Nigerian striker unavailable for sale regardless of the interest being generated across Europe ahead of the summer transfer window, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Ozbek, speaking during a live broadcast on HT Spor, was unambiguous in his position, dismissing reports linking the 27-year-old with Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona and making clear that the club has no intention of negotiating a departure.
“We are not considering selling Osimhen. Osimhen is an important player for Galatasaray. We are not considering selling an important player in our championship race. Putting a price on someone you don’t intend to sell is like counting your chickens before they hatch. We don’t have such a thing in mind,” Ozbek said.
The Galatasaray president went further, highlighting the striker’s growing significance to the club’s identity and fanbase.
“Osimhen is making the second-generation Galatasaray fans,” he added.
Osimhen joined Galatasaray permanently from Napoli last summer in a deal worth €75 million — a transfer Ozbek personally helped finance, injecting €35 million from his own corporate funds to complete what proved to be a protracted negotiation. The investment has delivered handsomely. Osimhen scored 22 goals and contributed eight assists in 33 appearances across all competitions this season, helping the club retain the Süper Lig title and reach the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Despite that bond, reports indicate that Osimhen’s representatives are still actively working behind the scenes to explore a potential move away from Istanbul, with intermediaries presenting his profile to several elite European clubs.
The debate over where Osimhen might fit has already drawn responses from outside Turkey. Brazil legend Romario questioned whether the forward has the technical qualities to thrive at Barcelona, arguing his style is better suited to space and chaos than to the controlled, possession-based football the Spanish club demands.
“Let’s start with Victor Osimhen. Fantastic athlete, aggressive, scores goals, I respect that. But Barcelona is not a team that lives off chaos, and his game is built on chaos,” Romario told Sport Diarios.
“When you watch him closely, the first touch is not always clean, and at Barça, that’s already a problem. One heavy touch, one loose control, and the entire rhythm of the team is broken.”
Romario also raised doubts about Osimhen’s link-up play in tight areas and questioned how he would cope when opponents defend deep against Barcelona, leaving little of the space the Nigerian typically exploits.
“He’s more comfortable attacking space, running in behind, using his physicality. But what happens when there is no space? Because at Barcelona, there is rarely space,” Romario said.
Osimhen will return to the Super Eagles setup for the friendly matches against Poland and Portugal in June, having missed Nigeria’s earlier fixtures against Iran and Jordan.
