Ajibade Olusesan 
Fenerbahce President, Ali Koç, has sparked debate in Turkish football after claiming that Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen is “too big” to be playing in the Turkish league. Koç made the bold statement during an interview with TRT Spor, where he praised Osimhen’s quality and described him as a rare talent.
“Osimhen is a special player and a player above Turkey,” said Koç. “That player comes once every 40 years.” The Fenerbahce boss said he received heavy criticism from the club’s fans after rivals Galatasaray signed the Napoli striker on loan.
Supporters accused the club of missing out on a top signing, but Koç defended himself, saying Fenerbahce were never offered the player. “For those who don’t know about Osimhen’s transfer, let me explain.
Luck was on Galatasaray’s side,” he said. Koç revealed that Galatasaray signed Osimhen by chance after his proposed move to Saudi Arabia collapsed.
According to him, Napoli had reached a deal with a Saudi club, but their president suddenly increased the transfer fee at the last minute, causing the move to fall through.
“Europe was already closed, and only Turkey was left,” he explained. “Galatasaray had an opportunity and they took it.
Osimhen was never offered to us.” Koç said the only reason Galatasaray went for Osimhen was because their star striker Mauro Icardi was injured, calling it a lucky situation for the Istanbul giants.
Recalling how he found out about the deal, Koç said, “I landed in London from New York at 6 a.m. that day. Around noon, I decided to rest. When I woke up, my phone was full of abusive messages. I asked, ‘What happened?’ and then I saw Galatasaray signed Osimhen.”
