Many fans of the Nigeria national football team want to know about Patrick Osimhen, the man who fathered Victor Osimhen.
The man who is responsible for fathering three of Olusosun community’s best football talents of which one made it to the global stage and is now the most valuable footballer of all time from Africa.
He is a legendary name in his community and the Patrick Osimhen family house is looked upon as a shrine of sorts because of his legacy, Victor Osimhen.
Here are five facts about the man who fathered one of the world’s best strikers.
🇳🇬 Victor Osimhen: I signed for Wolfsburg. With my first salary, I bought a house in Lagos for my father. I sent money to my brothers to start business. All of them have improved. They have always helped me. I can't tear myself away from them. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/mhNSdwJyOc
— Ibrahim Sannie Daara (@SannieDaara) July 18, 2023
1. 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 Patrick 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.
— Victor Osimhen (@victorosimhen9) August 11, 2023
The patriarch of the Osimhen family was made to go on air to dispel the allegations and Victor later sealed the move to VfL Wolfsburg in 2017.
2. Patrick Osimhen was Victor Osimhen’s manager
Patrick Osimhen has held several roles to help his family succeed and live normally. After coming to Lagos, he took on several menial roles to feed his children and send them to school. As Victor began making waves in football, Patrick Osimhen stepped into the role of 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.
Lagos is truly home for Victor Osimhen and he made the most of his last trip ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SC0u9A2my0
— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 13, 2023
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.
3. Patrick Osimhen did not want Victor 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.
Victor Osimhen has revealed his father Patrick had wanted him to be a doctor and not a footballer. pic.twitter.com/FIiHyjbR9L
— GOAL Africa (@GOALAfrica) December 21, 2022
“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.
4. Patrick Osimhen was a devout Christian
Patrick Osimhen kept his family in line with his Christian beliefs.
He made sure they prayed at every meal whenever they could afford to eat decently. He made sure they attended church. He made sure they spent family time together in prayer. He also 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.
5. 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 Victor was still at LOSC Lille in Ligue 1.
😭😭💔 pic.twitter.com/YRA9LCdtUh
— Victor Osimhen (@victorosimhen9) May 24, 2020
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.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 months ago
