Super Eagles skipper, Victor Osimhen has recalled his final days at Napoli, saying they treated him “like a dog” which led to his controversial exit from the club in 2024.
In a chat with Gazetta dello Sport, the 27-year-old said his issue with Napoli began in late 2023 after videos mocking him were posted on the club’s TikTok page.
The controversy reached a boiling point after Osimhen missed a penalty in a Serie A match. Napoli’s official TikTok page uploaded a video mocking the miss. Then, further scrutiny revealed an older video with a racist undertone that literally referred to Osimhen’s head as a “coconut”.
“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 recounted.
“I deleted photos of me in a Napoli shirt from my Instagram, and they seized the opportunity to turn the fans against me.”
Osimhen added that he had secured a “gentleman’s agreement that I could leave the following summer”, but Napoli failed to honour the deal.
He added that the club pushed him around and treated him almost like a puppet.
“We had a gentleman’s agreement that I could leave the following summer, but the other side didn’t fully keep their promise,” he said.
“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.”
Napoli eventually froze Osimhen out of the club before the 2024/25 season. The club failed to register him in its Serie A team and eventually loaned him out to Galatasaray. The Super Eagles eventually left Napoli permanently in 2025 for €75 million.