Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the harsh treatment he faced during his time at Napoli, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 27-year-old joined the Italian club from LOSC Lille for €75m, the most money Napoli has ever forked out for a transfer.
However, the legitimacy of the transfer came under question some five years later, and the Napoli bosses are set for a court case over false accounting regarding the deal.
Injury problems marred Osimhen's first two seasons in Italy, but the 2022/2023 campaign changed the course of the Nigerian.
He scored twenty-six goals to help Napoli win the Scudetto for the first time in over three decades. Individually, he was the CAF Player of the Year and was placed 8th in the 2023 Ballon d'Or rankings.
The former VfL Wolfsburg striker penned a new deal with Napoli in December 2023. The contract involved a release clause that'd allow him leave at the end of the season, if a worthy offer came.
Luciano Spalletti left Napoli, and Aurelien De Laurentiis hired Rudi Garcia, with whom Osimhen fell out, before the clash spread to the entire club after they posted a video with a racist inclination, a situation labelled as bizarre by former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro.
Chelsea, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain were all keen on securing Osimhen's services in the summer, but Napoli were only open to a deal in the Saudi Pro League. Eventually, the striker joined Galatasaray on loan, before making a permanent move to RAMS Park the following summer.
Victor Osimhen speaks on Napoli's ill-treatment
Galatasaray will play against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, with the first leg to be played at RAMS Park.
Speaking in his pre-match conference, Osimhen revealed he could've joined Juventus from Napoli, but the club's president, Aurelien De Laurentiis, prevented the move.
“Before talks with Galatasaray began, Giuntoli called me to bring me to Juve. I spoke with a few people from the club, and they showed interest, but I knew he (De Laurentiis) wouldn't let me go,” the one-time Turkish Super Lig golden boot winner said in quotes revealed by Fanatik.
“In any case, there was definitely interest. And when Juve calls you, you have to sit down and listen, no matter what.
Osimhen revealed he was willing to stay and work under Antonio Conte, but admitted that the way the club hierarchy treated him wasn't fair.
“We had a gentleman's agreement that I could leave the following summer, but the other side did not fully honour that commitment.
“They sent me everywhere to play, and they treated me like a dog. Go here, go there, do this, do that.
“I worked so hard to build my career, I couldn't accept that kind of treatment.
“After the club’s TikTok, everything changed. I was insulted, and no one ever apologised. I was a victim of racist insults: they treated me like a dog! I’m not a puppet.
“Conte wanted to keep me: I would have loved to work with him,” the AFCON 2023 silver medallist concluded.
