Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that Victor Osimhen will be leaving the club at the end of the season. He also ruled out the possibility of Jose Mourinho joining as the coach of the Serie A club.
Osimhen, who is currently in Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations, stated in an interview with CBS Sports on Tuesday that he has already made a decision about the next step in his career.
De Laurentiis told reporters at the end of the Serie A club assembly in Milan that they were aware Osimhen would potentially move to Real Madrid, Paris St Germain, or an English team. Osimhen joined Napoli in 2020 for a club-record 70 million euros, potentially rising to 80 million euros with add-ons. He was a pivotal player in the club’s first league title win in 33 years and finished as the Serie A top scorer with 26 goals last season.
He signed a contract extension last month that runs until June 2026, including a release clause of between 120 and 130 million euros, as reported by Italian media.
De Laurentiis also denied that Mourinho would replace Walter Mazzarri as the coach. Mourinho was sacked by AS Roma earlier in the month, which led to speculations about his future and potential jobs in Saudi Arabia and Napoli.
De Laurentiis added, “Mourinho has nothing to do with Napoli. He is a very funny and impulsive coach, but I feel his destiny lies outside Italy. Surely not at Napoli.”
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
