Carlo Ancelotti explains why Real Madrid did not sign Victor Osimhen last summer

Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was denied a move to Real Madrid, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has now outlined the reasons for that decision.

Imagine Victor Osimhen in the all-white jersey of Real Madrid, waving to the Bernabeu crowd after scoring a hat-trick in the Clasico. It never happened, but maybe it could have.

Real Madrid were linked to the Napoli striker last summer as a replacement for the departing Karim Benzema, but the club chose to go in a different direction.

Osimhen was coming off a stellar campaign where he won the Serie A Golden Boot and led Napoli to their first league title since 1990 when the great Diego Maradona was the star of the show.

So, why didn’t Osimhen join the Galacticos? Carlo Ancelotti gave reasons in an interview with Radio Serie A.

“No, we did not sign Victor Osimhen because I think the club thought that Benzema’s absence could be remedied by purchasing [Jude] Bellingham,” Ancelotti explained.

Bellingham turned out to be an inspired signing, as he led Los Blancos to the LaLiga and Champions League trophies in his first season.

While Osimhen could still leave Napoli this summer, the decision by Real Madrid to prioritize signing Bellingham over the prolific striker has already paid off handsomely.