Napoli president can't rule out Osimhen's exit because release clause is 'a very big amount of money'

Aurelio De Laurentiis, president of Napoli, told Sky Sports on Thursday that he can't rule out the possibility of the club's ace striker Victor Osimhen leaving via transfer because the release clause in his contract is "a very big amount of money."

Osimhen joined Napoli in September 2020 from LOSC Lille that received 75 million euros (about $81.1 million) of transfer fee. He has been one of their sharpest offensive weapons since then, scoring 72 goals and delivering 18 assists in 122 games, including 13 goals and four assists in 21 appearances this season.

"Victor is another good player that Napoli have. We had (Edinson) Cavani, (Gonzalo) Higuain, (Ezequiel) Lavezzi and we had (Dries) Mertens, we had a lot of people who were fantastic," De Laurentiis said at the Financial Times' Business of Football Summit in London. "And there are others who are attracted by Real Madrid, by Paris Saint-Germain, by Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea. So you cannot stop them, especially when they have a fixed amount of money where they can be bought."

Transfermarkt.com values Osimhen at 110 million euros (about $119 million). He signed an extension with Napoli in December 2023 until summer 2026. The deal includes a release clause worth, according to CBS, around $143 million.

"He has a release clause. It's a very big amount of money. Who knows who will leave, we will see," De Laurentiis said. "The money is the last problem for Napoli. We always made very good acquisitions as we did in the past. We will do (so) in the future."

Whether money is a problem for Napoli or not, the club is in deep trouble this season. As the defending Serie A champions, they are in the ninth place on the table after 26 games. They fired two managers this season. They will travel to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to play Barcelona in the second-leg game of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with a 1-1 draw result of the first leg.