On Tuesday, Victor Osimhen faced Juventus Turin, a club he almost ended up playing for. However, his former club Napoli prevented the transfer—and that wasn’t the only thing that angered the Galatasaray striker.
Napoli and Victor Osimhen have not been on good terms for a long time. In the summer of 2020, the striker moved from Lille to Vesuvius for just under €80 million, and at first everything went like clockwork. Osimhen scored 65 goals in 108 league games and won the Scudetto with Napoli in 2023.
In the summer of 2024, the break came: Osimhen was not even registered for the league squad and was loaned to Galatasaray. The team from the Bosphorus signed him permanently in the summer, paying €75 million – a record in Turkey.
Napoli prevented a move to Juve
Before Tuesday evening’s Champions League play-off match against Juventus Turin, which Istanbul won 5-2, Osimhen spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport about his time in Italy – and had nothing good to say about the Naples club. For example, he said that a transfer to Juventus in the summer of 2024 had been prevented by the club’s management. Former Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli had called him “to bring me to Juve before negotiations with Galatasaray began. I spoke to a few people from the club. They showed interest, but I knew he wouldn’t let me go.”
He is referring to the flamboyant Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis, whose name Osimhen does not mention once in the interview, and not without reason. “In any case, the interest was definitely there. And when Juventus calls, you sit down and listen, regardless of everything else,” said Osimhen, who, according to his own statement, had two other offers from top clubs in Italy.
The break with Napoli also came about because of a TikTok video in September 2023. In the post, which was later deleted, Napoli pokes fun at its striker’s missed penalty in a 0-0 draw in Bologna. Accompanied by a high-pitched voice (“Give me a penalty, please!”), the video shows Osimhen excitedly demanding a handball penalty and then clearly missing the goal.
“After Napoli posted this video on TikTok, something was broken,” Osimhen said. “Anyone can miss a penalty, and anyone can be mocked for it. Napoli only did that to me, and with certain insinuations. I was the victim of racist insults and made my decision. I wanted to leave.”
Late arrivals and arguments? “All lies,” says Osimhen
Osimhen subsequently deleted all photos of himself in the Napoli jersey from social media. “They used the opportunity to turn the fans against me. And yet my daughter is more Neapolitan than Nigerian to me,” explained the former Wolfsburg player. “No one has ever publicly apologized for what happened.” Rumors were then spread that he had arrived late for training and had argued with teammates. “These are all lies. I’m sorry for the fans, but I understand and admire them: they support the club no matter what. For them, Napoli comes before everything else.”
In December 2023, Osimhen then surprisingly extended his contract with Napoli, even though his departure was apparently already a done deal. “We had a gentleman’s agreement that I could leave the following summer, but the other side didn’t fully honor that commitment,” Osimhen complains. “They tried to send me somewhere 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.”
By the time Conte arrived, it was already too late
In the summer of 2024, there was a change of coach at the Partenopei. Antonio Conte replaced Francesco Calzona, which opened the door again for Osimhen. Conte wanted to reintegrate the Nigerian into the team. “As soon as he arrived, Conte called me into his office and said he was aware of the situation, but 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 continue working in a place where I didn’t feel comfortable.“
Incidentally, Osimhen has never regretted his move to Galatasaray. ”I found a club and a city that I love. Maybe it was a stroke of luck. As soon as you arrive in Istanbul, you understand why everyone who has played here has fallen in love with the team and the people. I had never experienced anything like it before,“ explained the striker, who won the league and cup with ”Cim Bom” – and was also the top scorer with 26 goals.