Osimhenl scored in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt
in the Champions League round of 16 to take his tally for the 2022/23 season to
20 and unlock the €130,130 bonus (N63.6m).
The Nigerian striker is in the third and easily the best
year of his five-year contract with the Neapolitans.
Napoli made Osimhen the most expensive African player in
history when the Italians paid LOSC Lille €75m and included a couple of players
in the deal that saw the total fee go above €80m in 2021.
Included in his five-year contract were milestones that
would see Osimhen earn more than his basic salary of €4.8m (N2.3bn) and one of
those set milestones mandated Napoli to pay Osimhen €130,130 should the
Nigerian forward score 20 goals in a season.
Osimhen only scored 10 league goals in his first term in
Naples and followed it with 18 goals (14 in Serie A, four in Europa League) in
his second year.
The 2022/23 campaign has, however, seen an extraordinary
Osimhen tearing defences apart and netting spectacular goals with incredible
regularity.
Despite missing a month due to injury, Osimhen is the top
scorer in Serie A with 18 goals in 19 appearances. He has also scored twice in
the Champions League, bringing his tally to 20.
The 24-year-old attacker has found the net in his last seven
appearances in Serie A, the latest being a stunning strike in Napoli’s 2-0 win
over Sassuolo.
The U-17 World Cup winner and record top scorer, who was
asked earlier in the season if the bonus in his contract would motivate him to
score more goals, said his aim was to first help the team.
“I’m very happy, it was very important to start well. We
have to feel the same as last year and start in the best way. I’m not the type
of player who sets a goal target, I want to score to help the team. I put the
collective in front,” he said.
Osimhen will unlock a similar bonus if he is able to
increase the total to 25 goals and in the form, he is in, scoring five more is
only a matter of when not if.
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