Osimhen is a local champion - Nigerian fans justify Osimhen's Ballon d'Or snub

The 2025 Ballon d'Or list has continued to generate controversy online, especially with the exclusion of big name players like Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen.

Super Eagles of Nigeria sensation Victor Osimhen was omitted from the recently released list of 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or despite enjoying an incredible season on loan in Turkey with Galatasaray.

The former Napoli man who has now made his loan move to the Cim Bom permanent, bagged an outstanding 37 goals in 41 games (26 in the league, 6 in Europa, and 5 in the league cup) and was rightly recognised as Pulse Sports30 top player for the 24/25 season.

Osimhen’s numbers dwarfs that of some of the big names that made the Ballon d'Or 30-man list, like Vinicius Junior (22 goals, 19 assists in 58 games), and Florian Wirtz with 16 goals 15 assists in 45 matches.      

However, Nigeria’s Osimhen wasn’t the only big name player snubbed—Chelsea and Ecuador’s Moises Caicedo, Manchester United’s skipper Bruno Fernandes and a few others didn't make the cut. 

In the wake of the organisers of the Ballon d’Or ceremony leaving out Osimhen from the nomination list, Nigerian fans have taken to social media to react to the news.

While some fans feel Osimhen did enough to deserve a nomination slot in the 30-man list, others are of the opinion that his move to Turkey hampered his chances of being considered.

Here are some of the reactions:

By all standards, Osimhen had a fantastic 24/25 season at Galatasaray which explains why the Istanbul club went all out to secure his services on a permanent deal, but playing in Turkey might have been the deciding factor in the former Lille man being snubbed.

Meanwhile, Super Falcons of Nigeria goalkeeper Chaimaka Nnadozie and coach Justin Madugu were both nominated for the goalkeeper of the year and best coach awards, respectively.