Liberian President George Weah has expressed his belief that Napoli and Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has the potential to become Africa’s next recipient of the FIFA Best Player and Ballon d’Or awards.

President Weah conveyed this message of congratulations to Osimhen, who recently became Africa’s top scorer in Serie A.

As the previous record holder for Africa’s highest scorer in the Italian topflight, President Weah scored 46 goals in 114 appearances for AC Milan between 1995 and 2000.

However, Osimhen surpassed this record when he scored in Napoli’s 1-0 victory against Fiorentina, bringing his Serie A tally to 47 goals.

Osimhen further made history by becoming Africa’s highest goal scorer in a single season when he netted his 22nd goal in the 1-1 draw with Udinese, securing the league title for Napoli.

This achievement surpassed Samuel Eto’o’s record of 21 goals in the 2010/2011 season.

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Impressed by Osimhen’s remarkable performances in Italy this season, President Weah, who himself won both the FIFA Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or awards in 1995, encouraged the 24-year-old not to rest on his laurels.

President Weah praised Osimhen’s dedication, hard work, and tenacity, emphasizing that there are more records for him to break.

President Weah fondly recalled Osimhen’s winning goal against Udinese, which secured the Scudetto for Napoli, and expressed his anticipation for the striker to reach his 100th goal in all competitions in Italy.

He reminded Osimhen of his own accomplishments and encouraged him to aim for even greater success, highlighting the need for Africa to have another world-class player.

While acknowledging that his records were not meant as a challenge but as motivation for Osimhen and other African players, President Weah emphasized the abundance of talent in Africa.

He advised Osimhen to remain humble, focused, and undistracted in his pursuit of excellence.

With four games remaining in the Serie A season, Osimhen currently leads the goal scorers chart with 23 goals.

If he maintains this position, he has the opportunity to become the first-ever African to finish as the league’s top scorer, setting another remarkable record in his career.