Osimhen Admits He Was Worried About Racism In Italy

Racism is a big problem in Italy and Osimhen revealed it played on his mind before deciding to join Napoli eventually

Victor Osimhen has said he was sceptical about joining Napoli initially due to the racism issues in Italy, but he changed his mind after he visited Naples.

Osimhen joined Gli Azzurri from French Ligue 1 side Lille for a club and African record fee of 80 million euros including add-ons.

However, the deal was not smooth sailing as Osimhen was reportedly against the move initially due to the several racism incidents that had plagued the Serie A in recent years.

The likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Moise Kean and Mario Balotelli are some of the players that have been subjected to racist abuse in Serie A games in recent times.

Osimhen revealed it gave him a lot of concern, but he changed his mind when he visited Naples during negotiations.

“I was a bit sceptical about racism in Italy, but I’ve visited Naples, and I know that I’ve come to a marvellous city”, Osimhen said at his unveiling.

“I’m sure I’ve made the right choice because of the love Napoli fans show me will make me feel right at home”, he added.

The former Wolfsburg striker also revealed he is honoured to have followed in the footstep of the likes of Diego Maradona, Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain who all represented Napoli previously.

“One of the greatest of all-time played for Napoli, Maradona. Later players like Cavani, Higuain, and Hamsik played here, and for me to be here is a great honour, it’s a privilege for me to have signed for Napoli. I’m really happy to be here”.

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 5:48 am

Joba Ogunwale

Oluwajoba Ogunwale has many years of experience as a sports content writer. The most recent of these was at Opera News, after which he took up the role of Editor-in-Chief at Soccernet.

Share
Published by
Joba Ogunwale

Recent Posts

“Perhaps the best player in the league” – Former Galatasaray superstar praises Osimhen after Bodrumspor display

Former Turkey striker Umit Karan has praised Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen for his performance… Read More

41 minutes ago

Like Troost-Ekong, meet the Dutch-Nigerian starlet who admires Jay-Jay Okocha and Cristiano Ronaldo

The football world is constantly brimming with many talents, most of whom have trained all… Read More

43 minutes ago

“Why I find Lookman to be a great player” – Sunday Oliseh shares his thoughts on Atalanta Forward

Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh, has expressed his admiration for Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman,… Read More

1 hour ago

Photo: Calvin Bassey makes priceless reaction as Iwobi scores Puskás-worthy goal against Wolves

Fulham defender Calvin Bassey was full of admiration for Alex Iwobi’s spectacular goal in their… Read More

4 hours ago

Portuguese gaffer praises Iwobi’s brilliance but rues misfortunes in Fulham’s defeat to Wolves

Fulham manager Marco Silva praised Alex Iwobi’s sensational first-half strike but expressed frustration at the… Read More

4 hours ago

Obiogumu bags hat-trick in Germany; Osimhen, Akintola shine in Turkey; Tella, Tolu, Onyedika impress

Soccernet.ng monitored dozens of games involving Nigerian footballers across Europe. Here are the key highlights… Read More

5 hours ago