Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen scored 15 goals in 20 league appearances to help Galatasaray win a fourth consecutive Turkish Super Lig title, and says the two seasons he has spent in Istanbul represent the finest spell of his professional life.
"I'm experiencing one of the best periods of my career," Osimhen told the club's official YouTube channel after Galatasaray sealed the title with a 4-2 victory over Antalyaspor.
"I feel great. This is the best so far. I'm experiencing one of the best, most fulfilling periods of my career. We deservedly lifted the trophies. I'm enjoying it very much, I'm very happy."
Osimhen, 27, scored 37 goals and provided eight assists in 41 appearances across all competitions in his debut 2024-25 loan season, winning the Super Lig and Turkish Cup double, then added 22 goals and eight assists in his second campaign after Galatasaray made the deal permanent last year.
His 37-goal, eight-assist haul across all competitions during the season set a personal career record, surpassing the 31 goals he scored for Napoli in 2022-23, and broke the all-time record for goals by a foreign player in a single Galatasaray season, eclipsing the 34 set by Mario Jardel in 2000-01.
Also, his 26 league goals that season earned him the Super Lig Golden Boot, making him the first Nigerian and only the fourth African to win the award.
Head coach Okan Buruk, who persuaded Osimhen to join on a phone call before his loan move in September 2024, said the club went all in to make the permanent deal happen a year ago.
"Victor is a team player, not just a striker who scores goals," Buruk said. "He was a dream for Galatasaray. We paid €75 million. It's the first time a Turkish team has paid such a price. It's a record, and we spent all our money on him."
Buruk has also praised Osimhen's willingness to sacrifice personal statistics for the collective: "Osimhen works hard, scores and assists.
"He plays for the team, not just for goals and assists. When we all play with this mentality, no one can stop us."
Defender Abdülkerim Bardakci offered a different dimension of the striker's contribution after the title was confirmed.
"Defense starts from the forwards," Bardakci said. "Osimhen is one of the best in the world in this area. Thanks to Osimhen's pressure on the opponent, the ball often doesn't come to us."
Osimhen also took time to speak about the bond he has formed with Galatasaray since joining on loan from Napoli following a turbulent exit from Naples.
"Galatasaray and Osimhen, you could say God wrote it in our destiny," he said. "He wrote on our foreheads that we would achieve great things, that we would fight together.
"I am very happy at Galatasaray. It has a different place compared to the other clubs I have been at. Every time I wear the jersey, I will fight for my club and my team. You realize that you are playing for a club built on love. God has blessed me with Galatasaray."
Despite that seeming attachment, Osimhen's future at the club remains does not appear cast in stone, as yet. Galatasaray president Dursun Aydin Ozbek has confirmed there is no fixed release clause in the striker's contract, which runs through June 2029, meaning the club can set its own asking price. Ozbek has indicated that figure could exceed €100 million.
Chelsea, one of the teams that wanted to sign him from Napoli at the time, have rekindled their interest, with exploratory conversations reported alongside inquiries from Barcelona and Real Madrid, according to TEAMtalk.
Doubts remain, however, over whether Chelsea will commit to a fee at that level, particularly with manager Xabi Alonso having publicly backed João Pedro as a world-class option up front.
Juventus, who held talks with Osimhen's representatives before his permanent Galatasaray move, face a structural barrier. A clause in his contract requires Galatasaray to pay Napoli a €70 million penalty if he is sold to a Serie A club before 2027.
Osimhen confirmed the Juventus approach in February. "Before negotiations with Galatasaray began, Giuntoli called me to bring me to Juve," he told Gazzetta dello Sport at the time.
Manchester United have been linked repeatedly, but according to reports, like other English clubs, United have so far declined to meet Osimhen's reported salary demand of €12 million net per season. Arsenal's interest has also been reported, with Mikel Arteta said to view the striker as a priority target.
Osimhen's path to Galatasaray took him from Wolfsburg in Germany, where he made 14 Bundesliga appearances without scoring, to Charleroi in Belgium, where 20 goals in 36 games announced him to Europe, to Lille in France, where 18 goals in a single season prompted Napoli to pay up to €80 million for him in 2020.
At Napoli, he became the highest-scoring African player in Serie A history and won the Capocannoniere in 2022-23 as the club ended a 33-year wait for the Scudetto.
Despite enjoying cult status in Naples before his acrimonious departure, and his fond memories of Germany and Belgium, Osimhen insists that his ongoing experience in Turkey now surpasses all of it, and he has already issued a warning to Galatasaray's domestic rivals ahead of next season.
"Next season will be even tougher," he said. "All teams want to beat Galatasaray. We will continue to work much harder. We will fight harder. We will do our best to win next season as well."