Galatasaray manager, Okan Buruk has said that the salary of Victor Osimhen alone could build a complete team.
He made the open acknowledgement while speaking on the financial consequences of signing the Nigeria international and a few other players.
After a strong season on loan from Napoli, the Turkish Super Lig champions signed the former African Footballer of the Year permanently last summer, even though other top clubs in the Premier League and Saudi Arabia were also interested in him.
Osimhen ended his five-year time at Napoli when Galatasaray paid his €75 million clause to the Italian side.
The 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup winner earns a guaranteed annual salary of €15 million, along with a net loyalty bonus of €1 million per season and €5 million per year in image rights.
Osimhen signed a four-year contract, and the total cost for Galatasaray to bring him back to Istanbul is about €159 million over the length of the agreement.
Speaking after Galatasaray’s 3-1 win over Istanbulspor in the Turkish Cup, Buruk highlighted the consistent rise in the club’s spending on fees and salaries over the past year’s financial discipline.
“Galatasaray’s transfer fees and salaries have been going up since last year. With Osimhen’s transfer fee and salary, you could probably put together a full team,” Okan Buruk was quoted as saying by Galatasaray’s official webpage.
“We need to take these things into account.’ We brought in some very important players for the team, such as Singo, Uğurcan, Sané, and İlkay. Every team has a budget, and when you set up budgets at the start of the season, you need to follow that budget closely.”
With the next match against Rizespor in the Super Lig coming up, Buruk decided to let Osimhen rest for Wednesday’s game against Istanbulspor.