Nigeria international Victor Okoh Boniface was on the verge of joining Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr in the last January transfer window after Bayer Leverkusen agreed a mammoth €70 million.
All three parties were interested in the transfer, but later collapsed, much to the surprise of Boniface.
“It was a big offer! €70M for the club (Leverkusen), so they couldn’t say no. They accepted, so I was ready to go, and I even had my suitcases packed.
“I was living in Cologne, so I went to Frankfurt airport. The offer was so huge that I even gave away some of my luxury (designer) clothes to my friends.
“I was at the airport, waiting, praying that the transfer would go through… but my village people were like come and go, let see na, but at the last minute, everything fell through.
“So, I called my friend and said, ‘Do you remember the Louis Vuitton T-shirt I gave you?” Boniface disclosed.
The deal failing to go through hurt Boniface because it was rumoured he was going to earn €20 million, per multiple reports from Nigeria.
The 24-year-old joined the German giants from the Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Union SG in August 2022 and instantly became a fan favourite.
The striker played a key role in Bayer Leverkusen’s 2023-24 Bundesliga title win and their UEFA Europa League final appearance.
Boniface has scored a combined 22 goals and provided 10 assists in his two seasons with The Black and Reds.
Bayer Leverkusen are preparing for the upcoming season with new manager Erik Ten Hag counting on Boniface as one of the senior members of the team.
