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By Peter Akinbo,
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has activated the goals bonus in his contract after scoring his 20th goal of the season, which obligates Napoli to pay him a bonus of €130,130 (N64m), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigeria international scored in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League round of 16 to take his tally for the 2022/23 season to 20 and unlock the €130,130 bonus (N63.6m).
The Nigerian international is in the third and easily the best year of his five-year contract with the Neapolitans.
Napoli made Osimhen the most expensive African player in history when the Italians paid LOSC Lille €75m and included a couple of players in the deal that saw the total fee go above €80m in 2021.
And included in his five-year contract were milestones that would see Osimhen earn more than his basic salary of €4.8m (N2.3bn) and one of those set milestones mandated Napoli to pay Osimhen €130,130 should the Nigerian forward score 20 goals in a season.
Osimhen only scored 10 league goals in his first term in Naples and followed it with 18 goals (14 in Serie A, four in Europa League) in his second year.
The 2022/23 campaign has, however, seen an extraordinary Osimhen tearing defences apart and netting spectacular goals with incredible regularity.
Despite missing a month due to injury, Osimhen is the top scorer in Serie A with 18 goals in 19 appearances. He has also scored twice in the Champions League, bringing his tally to 20.
The 24-year-old attacker has found the net in his last seven appearances in Serie A, the latest being a stunning strike in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Sassuolo.
The U-17 World Cup winner and record top scorer, who was asked earlier in the season if the bonus in his contract would motivate him to score more goals, said his aim was to first help the team.
“I’m very happy, it was very important to start well. We have to feel the same as last year and start in the best way. I’m not the type of player who sets a goal target, I want to score to help the team. I put the collective in front,” he said.
Osimhen will unlock a similar bonus if he is able to increase the total to 25 goals and in the form he is in, scoring five more is only a matter of when, not if.