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Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed how a major transfer decision during Antonio Conte’s Scudetto-winning campaign backfired.
The Naples-based club received a staggering €200 million combined offer from Paris Saint-Germain for Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the start of Conte’s tenure.
Osimhen was the standout player as Napoli clinched their first Serie A title in thirty-three years in May 2023, notching 26 goals to win the Paolo Rossi Award.
Despite committing his future to the club with a new contract in December 2023, a gentleman’s agreement had already been reached between the Nigeria international and De Laurentiis, allowing the former African Footballer of the Year to leave the Diego Maradona Stadium ahead of the 2024–25 season.
After proposed moves to Chelsea and Al-Ahli collapsed, and with the transfer windows across Europe’s major leagues closed, Osimhen secured a loan switch to Galatasaray in September 2024, a move that was later made permanent the following season.
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De Laurentiis has admitted that Conte made his preference clear regarding which of the two forwards should be offloaded.
“When we started with Conte, we received an offer of €200m from PSG and others to sell Victor Osimhen and Kvara together. Mr Conte said, ‘Osimhen you can sell, but please don’t sell Kvara’.” he told The Athletic.
Napoli sanctioned the departure of Kvaratskhelia to PSG in January 2025, a move De Laurentiis now regrets.
“Big mistake. Because after, I had big trouble with Kvara’s father and agent.”
Osimhen scored 76 goals and provided 18 assists across 133 matches during his five-year association with Napoli.
