TIMELINE: From hero to unwanted…  how Osimhen’s relationship with Napoli turned sour

The story of Victor Osimhen and Napoli is a tragedy of two lovers whose flame of passion has dulled into contempt for each other. One summer, they were parading the petal-strewn streets of Naples arm-in-arm, cuddling the Scudetto to the cheers of millions of fans intoxicated by their fairy-tale love story. A year later, they are back on the same streets but with shrapnel of their battered love littering the ground. Silence replaces the noise from crazed fans as both parties bid farewell after weeks of emotional blackmail and brutal brinksmanship.

It appeared Osimhen was born to play for Napoli. His story mirrored that of the club: a vessel of enormous passion and fury destined for great achievement, which once fell on tough times, and was on the rise to conquer all that was predestined.

Osimhen was predicted to lead the new generation of African football talents after he won the Golden Boot at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. But a couple of regretful transfer moves derailed his rise until he joined Lille.

Napoli was one of the corridors through which the world saw Diego Maradona’s greatness when he led the club to two Scudetto titles in 1987 and 1990. The club then fell on hard times and struggled against the big boys of Serie A. Over the following decade, Napoli repeatedly aimed for the big prize but missed.

At this juncture, Osimhen and Napoli blended their struggles into one for €70 million. They piggybacked each other to tick off elusive goals: Napoli won the Serie A for the first time in 33 years, and Osimhen finished as the league’s top scorer and was named the eighth-best player in the world.

As the arc of the scintillating affair inches towards a crescendo, their love thread becomes taut and ultimately snaps into bits. Napoli axed Osimhen from their squad for the 2024/25 Serie A season, while the player is currently in Istanbul preparing to join Galatasaray on loan.

But how did this sweet love story become this sour?

Here are some hallmarks that affected the relationship between the two parties.

FALL OUT WITH RUDI GARCIA

After Napoli won the Serie A title in the 2022/23 season, Luciano Spalleti left the club to lead the Italian national team.

Rudi Garcia was appointed the new coach, but the French manager had a mixed start. There were also reports of rancour in the dressing room.

The discord became public when Napoli played Bologna in the Serie A in September 2023. Osimhen lost a penalty kick and was substituted by the coach in the 86th minute. The striker reacted angrily to the substitution and yelled at Garcia over the decision.

The game ended goalless, and Osimhen’s attitude was reflected in much of the conversation in the Italian media.

MOCKERY VIDEO ON NAPOLI’S TIKTOK

Another controversial incident occurred in the wake of the touchline row with Garcia.

A video that appeared to be mocking Osimhen was uploaded on Napoli’s official TikTok page.

In the clip, a sped-up version of the striker’s penalty miss against Bologna was mashed with high-pitch baby audio sound.

Several football lovers condemned Napoli for uploading the video.

In reaction to the footage, Roberto Calenda, Osimhen’s agent, threatened legal action against Napoli.

Consequently, Osimhen also deleted all posts about Napoli from his Instagram page.

EXTENDED NEGOTIATION TO RENEW CONTRACT WITH NAPOLI

Amid all the controversy, Osimhen was yet to extend his contract with the club. The clock was ticking desperately for the club as the player only had one year left on his contract.

Aurelio De Laurentiis, Napoli owner, was keen on committing Osimhen to more years at the club to hold leverage over the striker’s admirers across Europe and beyond.

In October 2023, Napoli, in a statement, accused Osimhen of changing his mind after verbally agreeing to sign a new deal.

The repressed animosity between the two parties was not quelled until December 2023, when Osimhen penned a new deal.

The new deal reportedly doubled his salary to €10 million a season, with a release clause of around €130 million.

However, the negotiating gimmicks left an uneasy crack in the relationship between both parties.

OUTBURST AGAINST KVARATSKHELIA’S AGENT

In January 2024, Mamuka Jugeli, agent to Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, a teammate of Osimhen at Napoli, accused the Nigerian of a “lack of ambition”.

The agent insinuated that Osimhen is solely driven by money and the striker will soon move to Saudi Arabia — adding that his client is focused on top European clubs.

The comment elicited an angry response from Osimhen, who posted an expletive-laden post berating the Georgian agent on his Instagram page.

He described the agent as “a piece of filth and a disgrace” and lambasted his “sense of reasoning”.

TRANSFER REQUEST AND CONTE’S COMMENTS

Despite an injury-hindered season, Osimhen finished the season with 17 goals in all competitions for Napoli. The club failed to defend the Scudetto and were 10th in the league at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Osimhen handed over a transfer request to the club as the summer transfer window opened.

Shortly after, Napoli appointed Antonio Conte as manager, and the Italian repeatedly said that Osimhen would not be part of his plans for the season.

The club looked for a replacement for Osimhen and eventually signed Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

CHELSEA AND AL AHLI DEALS

Chelsea were among the foremost admirers of Osimhen, and the London club looked keen to sign the striker this summer.

However, both parties failed to see the move through due to disagreement over Osimhen’s wage demand.

The Blues reportedly offered the striker a €4m initial annual salary, a fraction of what he earns at Napoli.

Al Ahli were also interested in getting Osimhen into the Saudi Pro League.

Napoli had initially accepted a £67.3 million (€80m) offer from the Arabian club for the striker, who would have earned £33.6 million (€40m) a season.

But the Italian club reportedly demanded another €5 million added to the deal, prompting Al Ahli to look elsewhere and sign Ivan Tooney from Brentford.

NAPOLI EXCLUDE OSIMHEN FROM THE SERIE A SQUAD

Following the collapse of the potential transfer deals, Napoli axed Osimhen from its first team.

He was not registered for the 2022/25 Serie A season, and his jersey number was initially administered to Lukaku.