Turkish pundit Serdar Ali Çelikler has suggested that Galatasaray are reliant on Victor Osimhen like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. 

After inspiring the Lion to a domestic double during a loan spell last season, the former Napoli striker completed a permanent transfer to the Istanbul giants in the summer of 2025 after his release clause of 75 million euros was activated.

This season, Osimhen has missed fourteen of Galatasaray’s matches, sidelined either by fitness concerns or international duty.

In his absence, the Turkish giants managed to secure victories in just nine of those fixtures, five of which came in the Süper Lig.

The impact of his absence has been particularly evident in recent weeks as Galatasaray failed to win their last two league matches without their marquee centre-forward, drawing 1-1 with Gaziantep FK and losing 2-0 to Konyaspor.

Çelikler argued that, much like Ronaldo and Messi in their prime, Osimhen has become a player around whom Galatasaray revolves.

Speaking on the Neo Spor YouTube channel, via habersarikirmizi.com, the sports commentator said: "Without Osimhen, Galatasaray is missing 50%. It's like the Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid effect from back in the day.

"If Ronaldo wasn't there, Real Madrid was missing 50%. If Messi wasn't there, Barcelona was missing 50%. Now, Osimhen has created this effect."

In 23 outings for Galatasaray across all competitions, Osimhen has registered fifteen goals and five assists so far this season. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel