Abdullah Kavukcu, Galatasaray’s vice-president, has credited the club’s growing global appeal to Victor Osimhen, as well as two other forwards, Leroy Sane and Mauro Icardi.
Osimhen, who is currently regarded as Nigeria’s most prominent footballer, has piqued the interest of Nigerian supporters in Galatasaray, with many actively following the club’s developments on social media channels.
After a successful loan stay last season, during which he helped the Lions win the domestic double, Osimhen made a permanent move to Galatasaray last summer, for the largest transfer fee in Turkish Super Lig history.
When discussing the club’s commercial expansion, Kavukcu emphasised Osimhen’s impact on merchandise sales and global visibility, citing the striker as one of the club’s most valuable assets in terms of brand recognition.
“Leroy is among Galatasaray’s top three jersey sellers (alongside Osimhen and Icardi; ed.),” Kavukcu remarked in an interview with the German tabloid Bild.
He stated that plans are underway to make Galatasaray’s merchandising business public, and the club is also exploring establishing its own café franchise chain as part of a larger branding drive.
“Our objective is to be one of the world’s top ten clubs. We are preparing to go public with our merchandising company, and we also intend to launch our own café franchise chain,” he added.
“All of this is primarily due to players like Leroy, Mauro Icardi, and Victor Osimhen, who have greatly enhanced our popularity,” Kavukcu remarked.
This season, Osimhen has scored 19 goals and assisted on seven occasions in 29 games across all competitions.