Victor Osimhen has revealed the real reason behind his decision to leave Italian Serie A side Napoli ahead of today’s UEFA Champions League game against Juventus, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Osimhen who guided Napoli to their first ever league title in 33 years three seasons ago, forced his way out of the club by initially joining Galatasaray on loan before making the transfer permanent in the summer.
He will be up against an Italian opposition for the first time since his departure from Italy, and he has opened up on his exit from Napoli in a way he has never done before now.
“We had a gentleman’s agreement that I could leave next summer, but the other side didn’t fully honor their commitment. They tried to ship me off everywhere, treated me like a dog. Go here, go there, do this, do that… I’ve worked so hard for my career, I couldn’t accept that kind of treatment. I’m not a puppet.
Of course, Conte wanted to keep me on the team, but from the club’s side, they said they didn’t want me on the team. Are you serious? At that moment, which manager wouldn’t want me? As soon as Conte arrived, he called me to his office and said he was aware of the situation, but despite everything, he wanted me to stay. I told him I’d be happy to work with him, but I’d already made up my mind-I didn’t want to keep working somewhere I wasn’t happy.
“No one apologized publicly for what happened. After that infamous video, Edoardo De Laurentiis called me a few times. That’s it. Meanwhile, rumors were flying that I’d shown up late to training, gotten into fights with teammates… All lies. I feel for the fans, but I understand and appreciate them-they support the club no matter what. For them. Napoli comes first.” he stated in an interview with Gazzetta dello sports.
“I’m sorry for the Napoli fans, because I never spoke about what happened. Some of them came to my house and demanded an explanation from me. We talked, and I asked them to put themselves in my shoes. After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something definitely broke.
“Every footballer can miss a penalty, and everyone can be mocked for it. Napoli did this only to me, and with implications of a certain kind. I was the victim of racist insults and made my decision—I wanted to leave. I deleted my photos in Napoli jerseys from Instagram, and they seized the opportunity to turn the fans against me. Yet for me, my daughter is more Neapolitan than Nigerian…”
On interest of Juventus in signing him, the 27 year old revealed that they wanted to sign him the year he left for Galatasaray but Napoli refused to sanction the deal.
“Juventus wanted to sign me and Giuntoli submitted a bid to try to close the deal, but President (Aurelio) DeLaurentiis didn’t sell me to Juve. Juve are a top club. I never had a fight with (Luciano) Spalletti. When Juventus call you, you have to listen with them…”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
