How Lille got just €36m from Osimhen's 'record' Napoli transfer

Victor Osimhen's 'record' transfer from Lille LOSC to SSC Napoli has come under scrutiny following reports in France.

According to French media outlet, L'Equipe, the investigation is for inflated fees after it revealed that Lille got just €36m not €81m as widely reported.

After an impressive campaign in the Ligue 1, hitherto 21-year-old star, Osimhen, joined Napoli from Lille for a reported fee of €81.3m, as per the BBC.

It was the most expensive deal in Lille's history, making Osimhen the most expensive African player ever, taking over from Nicolas Pepe, who left for Arsenal the previous season.

However, despite the fanfare the move created at the time, details have emerged that the Osimhen's former club has only received €36m from his transfer.

The Ligue 1 club was in a very poor financial state at the time and the transfer of the Super Eagles forward was used to balance the books by the club.

According to the report, the deal then was agreed fro €71.3m with €10m in potential bonuses. But part of the initial fee (71.3m) included €20m made of four players, three Napoli academy players and goalkeeper, Orestis Karnezis, who were expected to go the other way.

But these youth players never joined the Ligue 1 side and their contracts terminated.

Further breakdown of the deal shows that €11.3m went to his former club Charleroi, made up of €3m bonus for training Osimhen and €8.3m as signing-on fee.

Also, Lille paid €4.5m to the Ifis bank to complete the transfer, while another €6m went into agents fee, leaving just €36m that has actually been paid.