Victor Osimhen scored his 100th career goal on Friday night during Napoli’s 2-0 win against Sassulo, becoming one of the five fastest players to achieve the feat.
Scoring in just his 197th game, the Nigerian has racked up his century faster than Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and in incredible style too, striking the ball past the keeper from an impossible angle next to the byline.
For comparison, the Argentinian World Cup winner scored his century after 210 games, while Ronaldo, the world’s greatest goalscorer, bagged his ton after 301 games.
After making his professional debut for Wolfsburg in 2017, Osimhen spent time at RSC Charleroi and Lille, before moving to Napoli in 2020, where he would score 47 goals for the Serie A side in just 85 games.
Eighteen of those strikes would come this season, with the 24-year-old now sitting six goals clear at the top of the Serie A Golden Boot ladder, while his club side aren’t doing too bad either – topping the Italian first division thanks to his goalscoring form.
In fact, you could say he has been pivotal in Napoli’s rise to the top, scoring in all seven of Napoli’s previous league games, helping them go undefeated since the first week of January.
His prolific start to his career means he now ranks as the third fastest player to score 100 career goals.
But two big names stand in front of him, one is World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe, who achieved his century after 180 games.
And the other, who leads the tally, is none other than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who’s scoring spree at Borussia Dortmund, RB Salzburg and Molde helped him to surpass his ton after a mere 146 matches.
Osimhen’s record breaking feats, meanwhile, mean he’ll no doubt have increased his value, but will also now be a number one target for many clubs around Europe.
One of those is Manchester United, who ‘are targeting a move’ for the Napoli forward later in the summer, which could see Erik ten Hag’s side bid a whopping £107m to secure his services.
