Napoli hero Osimhen happy to be recognised after knocking Salah off most valuable players list

Victor Osimhen

Napoli hero Osimhen happy to be recognised after knocking Salah off most valuable players list

Izuchukwu Akawor 11:30 - 18.06.2023

SSC Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has reacted positively to the CIES Football Observatory report that listed him as Africa's most valuable player ahead of Mohamed Salah.

Nigeria Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has reacted to a report that listed him as Africa’s most valuable footballer at the moment.

You will recall that Pulse Sports Nigeria reported that the CIES Football Observatory named Osimhen as one of the 100 most valuable players in the world.

Napoli's Osimhen
Victor Osimhen honoured by FIFA.

The report was made public in issue number 425 by CIES earlier this month with Osimhen listed in the number 50.

Osimhen reacts to CIES report

In the report, the CIES Football Observatory used a statistical model that was developed exclusively by them to rank the players.

Osimhen
Osimhen had a successful season last year with Napoli

According to them, the model was focused on the estimated transfer values of the footballers with the Nigerian star top in Africa.

Osimhen was ranked as the 40th in the world and first in Africa with a €77.3 million valuation.

Osimhen and Napoli
Victor Osimhen was ranked as the 40th most valuable player in the world by the CIES.

This placed him ahead of Liverpool and Egypt’s wide forward Mohamed Salah, who came second as he was valued at €61.2 million.

Nigeria’s Osimhen has now reacted to the report and was quite appreciative that his work has been recognised.

Mohamed Salah in action against Tottenham
Mohamed Salah finished a distant second behind Osimhen in the report.

“To be recognised in this type of area shows that i am doing something amazing with my career so far,” he responded to the question on his valuation by Pulse Sports Nigeria.

Osimhen’s season for Napoli

The former LOSC Lille star has become a hero and an icon in Naples after a memorable 2022/2023 campaign with Napoli.

Osimhen and Napoli
Osimhen and his family with the Serie A title

Osimhen was in superb form as Napoli claimed Serie A glory for the first time in 33 years.

The Nigerian scored 26 goals to lead the club to glory as top scorer and was rewarded with the Serie A striker of the season award, becoming the first African to win the award in the league’s 125-year history.

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Osimhen is currently on international duty with Nigeria’s Super Eagles and will be looking to help the team seal a ticket to next year’s AFCON in Ivory Coast later today when they take on Sierra Leone in Monrovia.

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