Victor Osimhen earns more than €20 million a year, just sponsored Nigerian fans to fly to Istanbul for the derby, and recently showed off a fleet including two Lamborghinis and a Rolls-Royce. He has also allegedly not paid €90,000 on a leased Mercedes-Benz since 2023.
The story emerging from Italy has raised eyebrows across European football. According to Italian outlet Napolista, German automaker Mercedes-Benz has filed a complaint with the Italian Carabinieri against Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, alleging that he failed to complete instalment payments for a vehicle leased in 2023 during his time at Napoli. The company’s claim is twofold: not only has the outstanding debt of approximately €90,000 gone unpaid, but Osimhen has also allegedly not returned the car. As of Tuesday morning, neither Osimhen nor his representatives had issued a public statement in response to the report.
The contrast with what is publicly known about his financial situation makes this one of the stranger stories to emerge around the Super Eagles striker in recent years. Osimhen currently earns north of €20 million annually at Galatasaray, making him the highest-paid player in Turkish Super Lig history. Just last week, he personally sponsored a group of Nigerian fans to fly from Nigeria to Istanbul to watch the derby against Fenerbahce. In March, he was filmed showing a content creator his car collection: two Lamborghinis, a Rolls-Royce and a Mercedes-Benz, the latter almost certainly the vehicle in question. For a man of his means, a €90,000 lease dispute is an administrative anomaly rather than a financial crisis. Those following the full Osimhen story through the Super Lig title run-in can use Bet9ja’s YOHAIG promo code before Galatasaray’s title-clinching fixtures.
The most likely explanation is that the matter slipped through the administrative cracks during a chaotic period in Osimhen’s career. His final months at Napoli in 2024 were turbulent: a public dispute with the club over a TikTok video, a loan spell at Galatasaray, and then a permanent move to Turkey. In that backdrop, a vehicle lease dating from 2023 could plausibly have been overlooked rather than deliberately ignored. The Italian legal system’s involvement, via the Carabinieri rather than a civil court, adds a layer of formality that will require his team to respond quickly.
A Pattern of Generosity That Makes the Story Stranger
Anyone who has followed Osimhen’s off-pitch conduct knows that financial negligence is not a character trait he is associated with. He is widely celebrated in Nigeria for his philanthropy: supporting struggling families he encounters on social media, funding medical bills, paying for education. The Galatasaray fans he brought to Istanbul last weekend were strangers whose posts he saw online. A man who spends his own money bringing strangers across international borders to watch him play football does not obviously fit the profile of someone dodging a €90,000 car payment. Bet9ja’s welcome offer is available for new users who want to follow Osimhen through the remainder of the Super Lig season and into the summer transfer market.
What Happens Next
The Carabinieri complaint is the beginning of a process rather than a conclusion. Italian consumer protection law gives Osimhen’s representatives the opportunity to settle the outstanding amount and return or purchase the vehicle before the matter escalates further. Given the relatively modest sum involved relative to his earnings, the expectation is that this will be resolved quietly and quickly once his team addresses the situation. The reputation damage, however, arrives before any resolution. The story is out, it is circulating across Italian, Turkish and Nigerian sports media, and Osimhen will need to address it directly if he wants to close the narrative. Those following Nigerian football’s biggest stories through the week can find all the latest on Bet9ja’s YOHAIG welcome page.
📌 Did You Know?
- Victor Osimhen’s annual salary at Galatasaray is reported to exceed €20 million, making him the highest-paid player in the history of the Turkish Super Lig and one of the 20 highest-earning footballers in the world across all clubs and leagues.
- The Italian Carabinieri, with whom Mercedes-Benz filed its complaint, is one of Italy’s four national police forces and handles a wide range of civil and criminal matters, including commercial disputes and consumer protection complaints.
- Osimhen led Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years during the 2022-23 season, winning the CAF African Player of the Year award for his performances that campaign, which included 26 Serie A goals and 5 assists across the title-winning season.
- The Lamborghini Urus, one of the vehicles Osimhen showed in his March 2026 car collection video, has a retail price of approximately €230,000, meaning the alleged €90,000 Mercedes lease debt represents roughly 40% of the value of a single car from his personal collection.
- Osimhen’s philanthropic activities in Nigeria are well documented and include funding medical treatments, supporting widows and orphans through social media outreach, and most recently sponsoring Nigerian fans to travel internationally to watch him play.
- The vehicle lease in question was reportedly entered into in 2023, during Osimhen’s final full season at Napoli, a period that ended with considerable personal and professional turbulence including a public falling out with the club over a TikTok video mocking his missed penalty.
- Napolista, the Italian outlet that broke this story, is one of Italy’s most respected independent football publications, specialising in Napoli coverage, and has a strong track record for accuracy on stories involving former Napoli players and the club’s commercial affairs.
