Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has opened up on the circumstances surrounding his departure from Italian side Napoli.
The 27-year-old helped the club to a historic Serie A title win in the 2022-23 season, but left the club on an initial loan deal in the 2024-25 season, before completing a permanent move to Galatasaray last summer.
The Nigerian striker was linked with big-money moves to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, before ultimately moving to Turkey.
He was also coveted by Juventus, but Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis was unwilling to sell to a league rival.
“I feel sorry for the fans, especially because I’ve never spoken about what happened”, Osimhen stated.
“Some of them showed up at my house asking for explanations. We talked, and I asked them to put themselves in my shoes. After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something definitively broke.”
Osimhen’s problem with the club began when he missed a penalty during a goalless draw against Bologna in September 2023.
The club then posted a video on their official TikTok account, seemingly mocking their star striker, with the post widely referred to as a racial slur.
The Super Eagles star reacted by deleting most pictures related to the club from his social media account, before they later released an apology, stating it was not their intention to offend the forward.
“Anyone can miss a penalty, anyone can be mocked for it. Napoli only did it to me, and with certain innuendos, too. I was the victim of racist insults, and I made my decision: I wanted to leave.”, Osimhen added.
“I deleted photos of me in a Napoli shirt from my Instagram, and they seized the opportunity to turn the fans against me. And to think, my daughter, for me, is more Neapolitan than Nigerian.
We had a gentlemen’s agreement that I could leave the following summer, but the other side didn’t fully keep their promise,” he continued.
“They tried to send me to play everywhere, treating me like a dog. Go here, go there, do this, do that… I worked so hard to advance my career, I couldn’t accept that kind of treatment. I’m not a puppet.”
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
