Victor Osimhen has broken his silence on his controversial exit from Napoli in 2024.

Speaking in a chat with Gazetta dello Sport, the Super Eagles forward said his issue with Napoli began after videos mocking him were posted on the club’s TikTok page.

He said he decided to pull down all the images of him in Napoli shirt from Instagram and the club decided to incite the fans against him.

On how he missed a penalty in a Serie A match during the height of the controversy, he said, “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. 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 deal that he 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.”

“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,” he said.

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, but he permanently left the former club and signed a €75 million deal with his current club last year. (Daily Trust)