Five facts about Patrick Osimhen

Five facts about Patrick Osimhen
Credit: Icon Sport

Get to know some quite interesting facts about Patrick Osimhen, the man responsible for giving us the now ‘Africa most valuable footballer of all time', Victor Osimhen.

Elder Osimhen is a well-known figure in Nigeria, especially in his native Edo State where he hails from because of his Super Star son who has grown into a fine footballer for Nigeria and his current club, Napoli.

Unfortunately, Elder Osimhen was no longer alive to witness his son take the 2022/23 Serie A season by storm and his performances which which won Napoli a first Scudetto in 33 years.

His son, Victor Osimhen, has also gone to set an unprecedented record in the 2023 Ballon d'Or rankings, finishing above Salah and Lewandowski in the top 10.

The 2023 EaglesTracker Fans Player of the Year  finished 8th in the final France Football Award rankings, and he became Nigeria's most ranked ever player in the Ballon d'Or.

Let's delve into knowing some facts about his father, Elder Osimhen.

Five facts about Patrick Osimhen

Patrick Osimhen had six children

Patrick Osimhen and his wife have six children together. Victor is the last of them.

They moved from Edo State to Lagos State after the birth of their first two children. Victor came while they were settled in Lagos and trying to make ends meet. However, they were unable to fully make ends meet until Victor’s football talent brought them succour.

There was a controversy in 2015 surrounding elder Osimhen and his children. It was alleged that after Victor had become one of the Nigeria national football team’s rising stars and a transfer to Wolfsburg was being touted, the patriarch had his reservations.

However, upon instigation by a certain Liameed Gafar, the CEO of local grassroots football club 36Lion, which operates out of Lagos, Patrick Osimhen was attacked by his children with the exclusion of Victor for disagreeing about the terms of the move.

He was made to go on air to dispel the allegations and his son later sealed the move to VfL Wolfsburg in 2017.

Patrick Osimhen was his son's manager

Patrick Osimhen held several roles to help his family succeed and live normally. After coming to Lagos, he took on several menial jobs to feed his children and send them to school. As Victor began making waves in football, he stepped into the role of being his son’s manager.

He dealt with the representatives of Nigerian clubs who wanted to be affiliated with Victor, as well as the handlers of the Nigeria national football team youth sides that wanted Osimhen to be a part of the various youth teams.

He also handled the calls from interested European clubs, negotiating deals for his son, the future superstar. It was while he held this role that the allegations of him being attacked by his children, led by Andrew Osimhen, his eldest son, and instigated by Liameed Gafar, began flying around.

In 2015, Patrick Osimhen retired and handed over Victor to Noga Sports Management. He maintained a key role, however, signing off on deals which the agency brought Victor’s way.

Patrick Osimhen did not want his son to be a footballer

A few years back, Victor reflected fondly on his father’s early reaction towards his football ambitions.

“Yes, true, he dreamed of a future as a doctor for me,” Osimhen said to the interviewer. “But I wanted this football from an early age because it's the ball that has always made me happy and helped me forget what was around me.

“Even when I played barefoot in Nigeria when I didn't live my days but only thought about surviving every day. And for a child, it's not easy.”

Patrick Osimhen was at the airport to see off his son when he finally sealed the move to Wolfsburg in 2017 as an 18-year-old, but before then, had already accepted that his son was going to be a footballer.

Patrick Osimhen was a devout Christian

Just like most southerners, elder Osimhen kept his family in line with his Christian beliefs. He made sure they attended church, spent family time together in prayer and taught them about the importance of charity, something that Victor Osimhen is known for.

The Napoli ace has a long-running social contract to help in community development efforts with the community he grew up in since making it big in the world of football. This is because of his father’s teachings.

Patrick Osimhen passed away in 2020

You will notice that everything you have read so far about Patrick Osimhen is mostly in the past tense. This is because the man passed away at the age of 80 in the year 2020 when his now superstar son, Victor, was still at LOSC Lille in France.

It was a trying time for the then-21-year-old. The incident spurred him to become a better player so that his dependents would not feel the absence of their patriarch.

Victor Osimhen continues to credit his late parents for making him into the man he is today. Unfortunately, they're no more to see the achievements of their son who have become a Serie A winner with several other individual titles.

This article was most recently revised and updated 12 months ago

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