- Osimhen revealed how he overcame a tough childhood to succeed
- The Nigeria international explained his happiness at silencing his critics
- Napoli striker has been in great form & leads the Serie A scorer’s chart
WHAT HAPPENED? Osimhen shared how he overcame several obstacles to make it in life and football when several people had written him off.
WHAT DID HE SAY? “I have [surpassed my life target] by 1,000 percent because I set a standard for myself the kind of life I want to live,” Osimhen told OmaSportsTV.
“Even when things were not going so well for me, I kept on believing, dreaming, praying, working hard, doing all sorts of jobs before I went back to my real love which is football.”
“To get to where I am today, there have been a whole lot of obstacles, hate, love backstabbing. My success has come with love and pain, love and tears, love and failure. Some people set a standard for me like, ‘we’re giving him two years, they rejected him in Belgium, he cannot do that’.”
“They compared me with the past players. I don’t want to mention names but I saw those things, I’m human, footballers are human. So, I’d rather take it the way they say it or I prove them absolutely wrong. And God is so good, I proved them wrong.”
“I’m playing in one of the biggest clubs in Europe, one of the best leagues in Europe. I have been nominated for the Young Player of the Year. I have won so many personal awards which I felt like is a huge milestone, considering I have gone through a lot of life-threatening injuries.”
“I came back, I smashed it and I have been doing quite well for myself. That is why everyday I wake up, I say ‘thank you God’ because if I couldn’t get to where I am today, I would have given a lot of people the kind of words to talk down on me and my career.”
“So, it’s like I’m on 100 and they’re on zero. Because I have won in life and I’m winning again against people who had written me off or wished me bad in my journey.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Osimhen overcame a tough childhood where he was forced to do menial jobs like vending newspapers and oranges in the streets of Lagos to make ends meet, only to later become one of the most sought-after strikers in the world.
The 23-year-old grabbed global attention when he won the Golden Boot award at the 2015 Fifa U-17 World Cup which Nigeria won, signing for Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in 2017 before being sent out on loan to Charleroi of Belgium where he became a success, scoring 20 goals in 36 games.
His prowess in front of goal attracted Ligue 1 side Lille who he joined in July 2019 and after finishing the season as the club’s top scorer with 18 goals, Napoli made him the most expensive African player when they paid €70 million to acquire him.
His spell in Naples has proven to be another success, scoring 38 goals in 76 games, including the current campaign where he is Serie A’s leading scorer with nine.
WHAT’S MORE? Osimhen also shared why he always posts funny memes on his social media pages. “Depression is real. People are going through so many things, sorry to say people are taking their lives, and I feel like most of them get healed by some sort of funny, motivational things,” he added.
WHAT’S NEXT? Osimhen will hope to be on target when Napoli visit Inter Milan in their next league match on January 4.
