Nigerian international soccer player , Victor Osimhen has been nominated among the top 30 players across the world to compete for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award for the 2022/2023 season.
The latest development crowns a very prolific season for the 24 year old where he won the Italian league title with his club (SSC Napoli) and the top goalscorer award in the league as well.
Osimhen becomes the 1st Nigerian to be nominated for the award since 1999 , when his illustrious compatriot Nwankwo Kanu also had the same honours.
The nomination means that Osimhen will be competing against world class players like Lionel Messi who is a multiple winner of the gong and latest goalscoring sensation , Erling Haaland of Manchester City in England.
The Napoli hitman scored 26 league goals in Italy last season to help his team win the Scudetto in almost 3 decades after the team last won it in 1990 with the magical Diego Armando Maradona .
He was also instrumental in the team’s foray into the prestigious UEFA Champions League scoring 5 goals as the team exited the competition in the quarterfinals to another Italian team , AC Milan.
On the international scene , Osimhen helped his country , Nigeria to grab a place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with 7 goals leading the goalscorer’s chart ahead of Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
