Super Eagles and Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen has revealed the deeply painful chapter that almost pushed him away from football entirely.
In an emotional essay titled A Prayer from the Gutter, published by The Players’ Tribune, Osimhen recounted how the COVID 19 lockdown left him stranded in France while his father’s health deteriorated back home in Nigeria.
The experience, he said, exposed him to what he described as the “dark side of football.”
Stranded in France as His Father Fought for His Life
Osimhen had just completed his move to Lille OSC when his father’s condition worsened.
Then the pandemic struck.
Airports were shut. Football was suspended. Travel was frozen.
He said he tried everything to return home, including seeking clearance from aviation authorities for a private flight to Nigeria. All he needed was approval from his club and his agent.
That approval never came.
The Business of Football Collides with Family
According to Osimhen, transfer discussions were ongoing at the time, and that complicated his request to travel.
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“But that’s when I started to understand the dark side of football. The business. They wanted to sell me,” he wrote.
He described sleepless nights, mounting anxiety and a growing sense of helplessness as he waited for permission that never arrived.
The Morning Everything Changed
One morning, after leaving his phone downstairs and taking a shower, Osimhen said he returned to find 20 missed calls from his family.
On FaceTime, his brother delivered the devastating news. His father had passed away.
The forward described the moment as emotionally overwhelming. He said he reacted in shock and grief, struggling to process the reality of losing his father while being thousands of miles away.
His neighbours in France, whom he described as like family, stepped in to comfort him during those difficult hours.
The Guilt That Haunted Him
For Osimhen, the pain was compounded by guilt.
“All my father’s children and grandchildren were around him. The only one who wasn’t there was me,” he wrote.
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That absence cut deeply.
He admitted that the trauma nearly made him walk away from football altogether.
“I truly thought I might never play football again,” he said, adding that at the time he felt disgusted with everything about the sport.
From Grief to Resilience
The raw account offers a rare glimpse into the emotional weight carried by elite athletes behind the glamour of professional football.
For fans who see the goals and celebrations, Osimhen’s story is a reminder that even global stars face moments of profound personal loss and inner conflict.
Today, he remains one of Nigeria’s most celebrated football exports, but his reflection shows that success on the pitch often comes after battles far away from the stadium lights.
