Being the only African player to be listed among Sports Pro’s Top 50 Most Marketable Athletes for 2024, Victor Osimhen, a forward for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, has had a significant influence on the sports marketing scene.
Despite Erling Haaland of Manchester City being placed 45th, Victor Osimhen managed to secure the 44th position in the standings.
Three primary metrics—brand strength, total addressable market, and economics—were used by the US-based website to evaluate athletes.
With scores of 24.18 for brand strength, 26.94 for total addressable market, and 13.03 for economics, Osimhen performed exceptionally well in these domains, culminating in a marketability score of 64.15 overall. Haaland scored 64.02, with respective scores of 22.8, 17.73, and 23.49.
With a remarkable score of 91.52, Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid is ranked second among football players, while American gymnast Simone Biles is at the top of the list. Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi rounds out the top five with a score of 89.67.
Neymar of PSG, Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid, Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, and Lamine Yamal, a young player for Barcelona, are among the other well-known football players that are featured in the rankings.
Interestingly, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, was left off the list.
Osimhen’s accomplishment is especially noteworthy considering that, following an unsuccessful summer transfer attempt, Napoli reduced his release clause from £113 million to £63 million due to a €35 million decline in his market value in 2024.
Read Also: APC Leader Affirms: Rotimi Amaechi Has No Regrets Joining APC Membership
The 25-year-old is now having a great loan stint with Galatasaray, a Turkish powerhouse, where he has broken the team’s seven-year record by contributing six goals in his first five league games, something that Bafetimbi Gomis last did in 2014.
Due to his outstanding performances, a number of teams have expressed interest in signing him. According to recent rumors from the Turkish media outlet Sozcu, Galatasaray is planning to make a bid of €50 million in January to sign him permanently, but this sum is less than his €75 million release clause.
Osimhen had previously been linked to a Chelsea transfer before deciding to join Galatasaray, where he has already contributed four goals and four assists in seven games.
