Mbaye Diagne: Only Victor Osimhen Can Break My 30-Goal Süper Lig Record

Mbaye Diagne, the former Senegal international, has identified Napoli striker Victor Osimhen as the only footballer he believes has the capability to surpass the single-season foreign goalscoring record he set in the Turkish Süper Lig. Speaking to Turkish newspaper Vatan, Diagne made clear he expects his benchmark to remain standing for the foreseeable future.

Diagne’s record dates back to the 2018-2019 Süper Lig season, during which he scored 30 goals across spells with Kasımpaşa and Galatasaray, establishing himself as the most prolific foreign player in a single Turkish top-flight campaign. That tally has gone unchallenged in the years since, with multiple strikers attempting and failing to match it.

“I’m happy, very happy. I’ve scored a lot of goals,” Diagne said. “I’m also happy to be the top scorer here. Nobody has broken my goal record in the Super League. They probably won’t be able to.” He added a notable caveat, however: “I could only accept it if my friend Osimhen broke it, but it’s impossible for anyone else to break it.”

Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, has endured a disrupted season due to injury. The Nigeria international managed 15 goals in 22 appearances in the current Süper Lig campaign — a return that, while impressive relative to his limited availability, falls well short of Diagne’s record. With the season approaching its conclusion, a realistic challenge to the 30-goal mark from Osimhen has not materialised this term.

The more immediate threat to Diagne’s record this season has come from another Nigerian striker. Paul Onuachu has netted 22 goals in the current campaign and would need to significantly close the eight-goal gap in the remaining matches to have any chance of surpassing Diagne’s tally. The final round of fixtures will determine whether Onuachu can mount a credible late challenge.

The backdrop to these individual milestones is a Galatasaray side that has claimed the Süper Lig title for the fourth consecutive season after defeating Antalyaspor, further cementing the Istanbul club’s domestic dominance.

Osimhen’s future remains a subject of significant speculation beyond this season. The 27-year-old’s loan arrangement at Galatasaray runs through the current campaign, and his parent club Napoli will need to determine his status ahead of the 2026-27 season. His scoring output in Turkey, injury interruptions notwithstanding, has kept him among the most discussed strikers in European football.

Diagne’s 30-goal season remains one of the landmark individual achievements in Süper Lig history. Should Osimhen return to full fitness and maintain his involvement in Turkish football beyond this loan spell, the former Galatasaray striker’s assessment — that only the Super Eagles forward carries a realistic chance of breaking the record — may yet prove to be more than a compliment.