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Galatasaray coach admits selfless Osimhen finished entire budget: ‘We spent all our money on him’

Galatasaray coach admits selfless Osimhen finished their entire budget
When a club empties the vault for one player, that player better deliver more than goals. Victor Osimhen is delivering everything.
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Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk couldn't contain his admiration for Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen following Tuesday's Champions League masterclass against Juventus.

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Buruk has offered a glowing assessment that reveals just how much the Turkish giants have invested, financially and emotionally, in their star forward.

The coach's honest take

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Speaking to TalkSport in a post-match video chat, Buruk laid out exactly what makes Osimhen indispensable.

"Victor Osimhen is a team player. He's not a striker who plays for the score. He plays for the team. He scores goals, he makes assists. In the Juventus match, he was involved in three goals."

Okan Buruk says Osimhen is a team player who cost their entire budget.
Okan Buruk says Osimhen is a team player who cost their entire budget.

That's not typical manager-speak. That's a coach who's watched his investment transform into something bigger than statistics, a complete forward who elevates everyone around him through work rate, intelligence, and selflessness.

The record-breaking gamble

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"You know, last year he was a dream for Galatasaray," Buruk explained. "We paid 75 million. For the first time in the Turkish League, a Turkish club paid a fee like 75 million. That's a record and we spent all our money on him."

Victor Osimhen is one of the highest-paid African footballers in 2025 after his transfer to Galatasaray | Credit: Instagram

Not "a significant portion." Not just "a club-record fee." All of it. Galatasaray went all-in on Victor Osimhen, shattering Turkish football's transfer ceiling and betting their entire financial war chest on one player delivering Champions League glory.

Seventy-five million euros. A Turkish league record. The entire budget sacrificed for one Nigerian striker who had to prove he was worth demolishing financial prudence for.

Victor Osimhen was creative best against Juventus in the UCL.
Victor Osimhen was creative best against Juventus in the UCL.
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Against Juventus, Osimhen showed exactly why Buruk and Galatasaray's board made that call. Involved in three goals. 

Two assists. Relentless pressing that broke the Old Lady's backline. The kind of complete performance that justifies emptying the accounts.

"He's not a striker who plays for the score," Buruk emphasised and that distinction matters. Galatasaray didn't just buy goals. 

They bought a player who transforms the entire attacking structure, who makes teammates better, who runs himself into the ground every single match because that's what €75 million responsibilities demand.

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The Pressure of Being the Entire Budget

Most big-money signings share the financial burden with other transfers. Osimhen? He is the transfer budget. Every goal he scores, every assist he provides, every pressing sequence that forces turnovers, it all carries the weight of knowing Galatasaray literally spent everything to bring him to Istanbul.

That kind of pressure crushes some players. Osimhen is thriving under it.

Six goals in seven Champions League matches. Only Mbappe, Kane, and Haaland ahead of him in the scoring charts. 

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Nigeria's Victor Osimhen is rubbing shoulders with the elites in Europe.
Nigeria's Victor Osimhen is rubbing shoulders with the elites in Europe.

And now, his own manager publicly declared that the club bet the entire house on his ability to deliver.

When a manager tells the world "we spent all our money on him," he's not complaining, he's validating. That's a coach telling Europe: this player was worth bankrupting ourselves for. This is what elite looks like when you're willing to gamble everything.

Okan Buruk of Galatasaray.

Osimhen isn't just meeting expectations. He's proving that sometimes, when you identify greatness, the only logical move is to go all-in and trust the talent to carry you through.

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Galatasaray spent all their money. Osimhen is making sure they don't regret a single euro.

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