Osimhen vs Lookman: Salary, goals & market-value battle between Nigeria’s 2 superstars

Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen and Atletico Madrid forward Ademola Lookman are unarguably the two biggest Nigerian stars in the world football.

Born in different countries and raised across multiple continents, Osimhen and Lookman have taken dissimilar paths to become Nigeria’s two most valuable players.

However, even at the very top and at the peak of their powers, there are still significant differences in their financial situation.

Osimhen, the money man

Osimhen is the established superstar at Galatasaray, where his four-year contract carries a guaranteed net salary of €15 million per season. Add to that a €1 million yearly in loyalty payment and €5 million in image-rights income and Osimhen becomes easily the highest-paid Nigerian footballer on the planet.

The sweet deal followed his record-breaking move from Napoli to Galatasaray in July 2025.

No Nigerian is coming close to that in the nearest future. However, the only Super Eagles star who has come the closest to Osimhen in earned wages is none other than Ademola Lookman.

Lookman currently earns 12.50 million euros at Atlético Madrid to stand tall as the second best-paid Nigerian star in the game, behind Osimhen.

Osimhen also leads comfortably in the market-value race too. Per Transfermarkt, the Super Eagles goal king has an estimated valuation of €65 million.

Previously tagged at €75 million, Osimhen’s valuation fell to €65 million in October, a four-year low. Interestingly, even after that correction, the Galatasaray striker is still valued €25 million above Ademola Lookman, who is currently pegged at €40m.

Osimhen’s goals give him the financial edge

Osimhen did not become the most valuable and highest-paid Nigerian footballer because of his father’s connection. He doesn’t have one.

His greatest weapon, brutal but simple, as always been his goals.

On his first full Galatasaray season after arriving permanently, the Nigerian smashed in 22 goals in 32 appearances across the Turkish Super Lig and Champions League. That tally can further be broken down into 15 league goals and seven in Europe.

Those numbers were even modest compared to his extraordinary loan spell in 2024-25, when he scored 37 goals and supplied eight assists in only 41 games, helping Galatasaray win the Turkish league and cup double.

It is difficult for any Super Eagles player to match or surpass Osimhen’s goals records, much less Lookman.

To his credit, though, the Atletico Madrid is not a conventional centre-forward.

Lookman can play on either wing or behind a striker, using acceleration, dribbling and movement to attack space.

The 28-year-old attacker has managed 100 career goals and 49 assists in 369 games for eight clubs. Those clubs include Atalanta BC, Charlton Athletic, Everton, Leicester City, Fulham, and RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid. He also has 11 goals in 45 appearances for the Super Eagles.

Impressive as that goal tally is, they pale in comparison to Osimhen’s, with the Galatasaray man boasting 179 goals and 46 assists in 302 club career appearances.

The former Lille star also has 35 goals in 52 games for Nigeria, shooting him up to second place in the Super Eagles all-time scoring chart behind the legendary Rashidi Yekini.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the heftier salary package has flowed towards the man with the higher goal ratio.

Osimhen vs Lookman: Most unforgettable moments

The moment that transformed Lookman from being an exciting Serie A winger into a continental star arrived on 22 May 2024 in Dublin when he scored three times in Atalanta’s 3-0 Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen. He became the first player to score a hat-trick in a one-off UEFA Cup or Europa League final.

Osimhen is yet to play in a European continental final, much less score in one. But the former Golden Eaglets lad has made numerous impact at Lille, Napoli and Galatasaray.

At Lille, he announced himself as one of Europe’s most exciting young strikers and won the Marc-Vivien Foe award. At Napoli, he turned potential into superstardom, helping the Italian giants win their first Serie A title in more than three decades.

That 2022-23 campaign remains one of the defining seasons of his career. Osimhen scored 31 goals in 39 games across all competitions, including 26 in Serie A, as Napoli stormed to the Scudetto.

His performances also earned him the 2023 CAF African Player of the Year award, becoming the first Nigerian man to win the prize since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.

Lookman followed him one year later. The former Everton youngster claimed the 2024 CAF African Player of the Year award after another outstanding campaign with Atalanta, capped by that unforgettable Europa League final hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen.

Who is Nigeria’s bigger star?

The numbers give Osimhen, who is set to make Galatasaray return a spell on the sidelines, the advantage. He earns more. He is worth more. He has scored far more goals at club level and for the Super Eagles.

Lookman, however, has produced one of the greatest individual performances by a Nigerian in a European final, scoring all three goals as Atalanta ended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run in spectacular fashion.

That night in Dublin will probably remain one of the most memorable moments in Nigerian football for years to come.

Osimhen has his own collection of unforgettable moments, from his goals that helped Napoli win Serie A to his prolific spell at Galatasaray.

In the end, the comparison depends on what matters most. If it is goals, salary and market value, Osimhen is comfortably ahead.

If it is versatility and one-off European glory, Lookman has a strong argument.

But perhaps Nigeria should not be too concerned about choosing between them. For a country that has produced some of Africa’s greatest footballers, having Osimhen and Lookman operating at the highest level at the same time is a luxury worth celebrating.