Big mistake — Napoli president regrets taking Conte advice on Osimhen, Kvara after €200M offer

At the start of Antonio Conte’s tenure as Napoli boss, PSG tabled a monstrous €200 million double-bid for Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

According to club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, Conte gave the green light on one but protected the other, telling the owner:

"You can sell Osimhen, but please don’t sell Kvara."

De Laurentiis now admits that following that advice, and eventually losing Kvara to PSG in early 2025, was a "big mistake" that sparked major internal friction.

While the Nigerian eventually moved to Galatasaray after high-profile deals with Chelsea and Al-Ahli fell through, De Laurentiis regrets keeping Kvaratskhelia only to sell him later, citing the "big trouble" it caused with the player's representatives.

De Laurentiis has admitted that Conte made his preference clear regarding which of the two forwards should be offloaded.

"When we started with Conte, we received an offer of €200m from PSG and others to sell Victor Osimhen and Kvara together. Mr Conte said, ‘Osimhen you can sell, but please don’t sell Kvara," he told The Athletic.

Napoli ended up selling Kvaratskhelia to PSG in January 2025.

De Laurentiis now labels the entire handling of the situation a "big mistake," noting that the delay caused significant fallout with Kvaratskhelia’s family and agent.

Osimhen has since joined Galatasaray, initially on loan, before completing a 75 million permanent move. The 27-year-old led the club to a domestic double last season, and looks set to win the Turkish league again this season.