Super Eagles and Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen has revealed that his relationship with former club Napoli deteriorated after the Italian side’s TikTok account mocked him for missing a penalty during a league match.
Speaking in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen
said the incident marked the beginning of the breakdown that eventually led to
his departure from the club, describing his treatment by the club as
humiliating.
Following the match in the 2023-24 season, Napoli’s official
TikTok account posted two short videos (later deleted) mocking Osimhen. One
clip showed images of Osimhen with a coconut accompanied by lyrics saying, “I’m
not a boy… I’m not a girl… I’m a coconut,” while the other featured footage of
him appealing for and then missing the penalty, edited with squeaky, sped-up
audio.
Explaining the incident, he said, “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. 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.”
He also stated he tried to maintain a professional
relationship with the club, including a gentlemen’s agreement that he could
leave the following summer, which he claims was not fully honored.
“We had a gentlemen’s agreement that I could leave the
following summer, but the other side didn’t fully keep their promise. 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,” he said.
Osimhen added, expressing sympathy for Napoli fans while
denying rumours about unprofessional behaviour.
He said, “No one ever publicly apologized for what happened.
After that famous video, Edoardo De Laurentiis called me several times. Stop.
Meanwhile, there were rumors that I was late to the pitch, that I was arguing
with my teammates… It’s all lies. I feel sorry for the fans, but I understand
and admire them: they always support the club. For them, Napoli comes first.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com