Former Super Eagles midfielder Etim Esin says Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen’s Ballon d’Or is very inspiring.
Osimhen finished in eighth position in the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi won the award for a record eighth time.
Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez were in the top seven.
Bernardo Silva placed ninth and former winner Luka Modric finished in tenth position.
Osimhen earned his position on the ranking for his impressive displays for Serie A club Napoli last season.
The 24-year-old played a key role in Napoli winning their first Scudetto in 33 years, netting 26 goals in 32 league appearances.
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In an exclusive chat with Completesports.com, Esin praised Osimhen for his giant strides and also commended Oshoala for finishing 20th in the women’s category.
“Very inspiring, you can imagine how long it takes for another man to come up,” Esin said.
Osimhen is one of the best strikers in the world. For Nigeria, for Africa.
“(Osimhen and Oshoala) These are the two prominent female and male Nigerian footballers for now. But they haven’t won Nations Cup, they haven’t won World Cup.
He’s one the most celebrated Nigerian footballers globally. We don’t like celebrating our own, other countries celebrate their own.”
Osimhen who is currently injured at the moment has found the net six times in eight Serie A games this campaign.
It’s likely he will Super Eagles 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho on November 16 and Zimbabwe on November 19.
Napoli are fifth on the log with 18 points after the first 10 games in the Italian top flight this term.
By Toju Sote
