George Weah, the sole recipient of Africa’s Ballon d’Or award, has advised Victor Osimhen, the forward for Nigeria and Napoli, to aim for winning the prestigious award.
Osimhen, aged 24, played a significant role in Napoli’s triumph as they secured their first Serie A title in 33 years.
He also surpassed Weah’s longstanding record for the African player with the highest number of goals scored in the Italian Serie A, by scoring his 47th goal during the match against Fiorentina on the previous Sunday.
Despite his recent success, Weah – who won the 1995 European best award- in congratulating the striker urged him to go for more accolades and believes the Super Eagles attacker has what it takes to win the Ballon d’Or.
I want to admonish you not be contented. There are many more of my records for you to break. I wish you go on to achieve greater success.
“I watched your goal against Udinese when your 52nd -minute header won the Scudetto for Napoli. Your movement, your passion, your determination and hunger brought back many memories to me.
I wait for your 100th Goal in all competitions in Italy so that you can celebrate (but don’t remove your shirt like I did or you will get a Yellow Card),” wrote Weah on Facebook.
“You have won one Scudetto. Great! When I won my first Scudetto with Milan, I said to myself, why one, why not two? I went on to win another Scudetto with Milan. I went on to win the Ballon D’or.
So why not two or more for you Victor? The sky is your limit. With your dedication, commitment, humility, hard work, you can conquer the World. Africa needs another World Best. Africa needs another European Best. You Victor, can deliver that for us,” he added.
Osimhen is leading the goal king race in Italy with four games to end the season.
Osimhen pens message to Weah
Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen has paid tribute to African football legend, George Weah, after breaking his long-standing Serie A record.
The Super Eagles striker netted his 47th Serie A goal – his 23 of the campaign – in the 1-0 win over Fiorentina on Sunday.
The 74th minute penalty against La Viola now places him above the former AC Milan striker, who held the record for 23 years.