Tag: Napoli

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has opened up about feeling mistreated at Napoli before his move to Galatasaray, claiming he was “treated like a dog” despite earlier interest from Juventus. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen confirmed that Juventus, through then sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, tried to sign him in 2024 before he initially joined Galatasaray on loan—a deal that was later made permanent. “Yes, but I could have been at two other top Serie A clubs today,” he said. “[Giuntoli] called me to take me to Juve before negotiations with Galatasaray began. I spoke with a couple of people from the club. They showed interest, but I knew that [Napoli President] Aurelio De Laurentiis wouldn’t let me leave. In any case, the interest was definitely there. And when Juventus call, you sit down and listen.” Osimhen played a key role in Napoli’s 2022-23 Serie A title win, finishing as the league’s top scorer under Luciano Spalletti. However, relations between the striker and the club soured the following season. In September 2023, Napoli posted a TikTok video mocking Osimhen after he missed a penalty against Bologna. The Nigerian striker says the post marked a turning point. “After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something broke. Anyone can miss a penalty, and anyone can be mocked for it. Napoli did it only to me, and with certain kinds of insinuations as well. I was the victim of racist insults, and I made my decision. I wanted to leave,” he said. Osimhen added that no public apology was ever made, dismissing rumours about disciplinary issues as “lies.” Although he signed a contract extension in December 2023, he revealed there was a gentleman’s agreement allowing him to leave the following summer, which he feels Napoli did not honour. “They tried to send me anywhere to play, but they treated me like a dog. Go here, go there, do this, do that. I worked so hard to build my career, and I couldn’t accept that kind of treatment. I’m not a puppet,” Osimhen said. He also revealed that incoming Napoli coach Antonio Conte wanted him to stay. “As soon as he arrived, Conte called me into his office and said he was aware of the situation but that, despite everything, he wanted me to stay. I said I would have liked to work with him, but I had already made my decision. I didn’t want to keep working in a place where I didn’t feel happy.” Now in his second season at Galatasaray, Osimhen says he has rediscovered his happiness in Istanbul. “I found a club and a city that I love. As soon as you arrive in Istanbul, you understand why anyone who has played here has fallen in love with the team and the people. I had never experienced anything like it,” he said. Osimhen will face familiar Italian opposition tonight as Galatasaray take on Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off.

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has opened up about feeling pressured into his 2020 move to Napoli, claiming agents and club officials pushed the transfer while his father was critically ill. In a testimony leaked by La Repubblica, Osimhen told Italy’s Guardia di Finanza that he was excluded from key contract discussions and never received a proper draft of his deal. Negotiations were led by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis and Lille officials, leaving the Nigerian forward frustrated and sidelined. The summer 2020 transfer from Lille to Napoli, worth €70 million, was one of Europe’s biggest moves that year, but it has since been shrouded in controversy. Osimhen recounted the ordeal amid an ongoing investigation into alleged false accounting connected to the deal. “My previous agent, Jean Gerard, was only focused on the transfer and not my father’s health. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about football; I just wanted to know how he was doing,” Osimhen said. He recalled a meeting in Nice with Gerard, Lille president Gerard Lopez, and Luis Campos, where he was told the transfer was already agreed in principle—a deal of which he had no prior knowledge. Tragically, his father passed away during the negotiations. “I was extremely angry with Lille and my agent because I hadn’t been able to see him before he died. They even told me I would have to leave for Naples the next day, unaware of my father’s death,” he said. Despite his anger, Osimhen went to Naples, met the coach and De Laurentiis, but still had not received a formal contract. When he requested one from his agent, he was given only “a pseudo-agreement.” Feeling misled, he considered returning to France but eventually replaced Gerard with William D’Avila as his new agent. The transfer was eventually finalized at the end of July 2020 in Lille, in the presence of Napoli and Lille officials and Osimhen’s new representative. The deal is now under investigation as prosecutors probe alleged financial irregularities, including claims that both clubs inflated the value of lesser-known players to meet financial regulations. Osimhen’s transfer initially valued at €50 million rose to €70 million, including €20 million in additional player exchanges. Youth players Luigi Liguori, Claudio Manzi, and Ciro Palmieri, who never played for Lille, were immediately loaned out, raising questions about their valuations. Prosecutors in Rome are considering whether Napoli president De Laurentiis and other officials should stand trial over alleged accounting manipulations tied to Osimhen’s transfer.