The Victor Osimhens transfer saga is back in the news as Napoli and LOSC offices were reportedly raided and President Aurelio De Laurentiis investigated for possible fraud in the transfer.
According to Il Mattino, La Repubblica, Sky Sport Italia and others, police raided Napoli and Lille offices in Naples, Rome and France yesterday as part of the investigation.
The deal has long been a cause of controversy, as the official €70m transfer plus €10m in bonuses fee was only circa €50m in cash, the other €20m made up of goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis and three youth team players Luigi Liguori, Claudio Manzi and Ciro Palmieri.
The value of the youth team players immediately raised eyebrows, because they were given vastly inflated prices on the transfer market.
This caused even more controversy when the three players never actually wore the Lille jersey, as they were immediately loaned out to Serie C sides and their contracts were simply terminated a year later free of charge.
The players went to the media complaining the deal had ruined their careers and they were used as pawns in a larger transaction used to bolster the finances of both Napoli and Lille.
Mike Cookey