Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker, Victor Osimhen, has shared a memorable encounter from his early days with the Nigerian national team, revealing how a senior international player turned him away from a hotel room door in 2017.
The celebrated forward disclosed that it took the direct intervention of Kelechi Iheanacho to welcome him inside. Osimhen made the revelation in the early hours of Saturday during a Twitch livestream with popular Nigerian comedian Carter Efe.
The striker is currently in Nigeria recuperating from a broken arm he sustained during Galatasaray’s recent UEFA Champions League match against Liverpool.
Recalling his first call-up to the Super Eagles, Osimhen explained that he had approached Iheanacho’s hotel room with the humble intention of paying his respects to the then-Manchester City forward.
“When I came, I met Iheanacho. And I told him, ‘ah, see me, I’m gonna carry your boots.’ So he said I should come to his room so, he gave me his room number,” Osimhen narrated during the interactive session.
However, upon arriving at the designated room, things did not go as planned. “So, as I got to his room. I don’t just want to mention the name, he had a roommate. So, as I knocked on the door, the roommate opened the door. So, he like bounced me out of the room,” the Galatasaray star recounted.
While Osimhen respectfully declined to name the specific player who sent him away, he noted that the individual was a highly prominent figure in Nigerian football at the time.
Fortunately, Iheanacho quickly realized what was happening and stepped in to defend the young forward. According to Osimhen, Iheanacho was deeply displeased by his roommate’s dismissive actions.
“Iheanacho showed up and was angry at him, saying, ‘you see that someone came to see me in my room and you are chasing him from my room.’ So Iheanacho took my hand and took me inside,” Osimhen added.
The incident dates back to 2017, a defining year when Osimhen was just making his initial appearances in the Super Eagles set-up.
He has since grown far beyond those early days, firmly establishing himself as one of Africa’s most formidable and celebrated strikers on the global stage.
