Sports
Osimhen’s 7 Sins To Napoli: Reasons Italian Club Want To Ruin Super Eagles Star’s Career
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.
Here are seven sin the Nigerian might have committed that triggered many delays in his move away from Napoli:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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”.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
Atalanta put their PSG beating behind them with a dominant Serie A win, boosted by the return of Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman to the lineup for the first time in four months.
Atalanta have bounced back from a crushing defeat to PSG with a convincing Serie A victory, a match that saw the highly-anticipated return of Nigerian international Ademola Lookman to the pitch for the first time in four months.
The Super Eagles forward, whose recent absence was linked to a failed summer transfer and subsequent standoff with the club, came on for the final three minutes of the match against Torino, but it was his presence alone that signaled a shift in momentum for La Dea.
While Lookman watched from the bench, the team, under manager Ivan Juric, dominated the first half, taking a commanding 3-0 lead.
The attacking trio of Nikola Kristovic, Ghana’s Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Lazar Samardzic was in blistering form, putting the game to bed before the halftime whistle.
Kristovic was the star, bagging an impressive brace, while Sulemana found the back of the net once and provided an assist. Samardzic also contributed with a key assist, demonstrating the attacking firepower that Atalanta has at its disposal.
The emphatic win is a welcome relief for the club, which was humbled in a 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain just days earlier in the Champions League.
That result highlighted how much the team had missed the attacking spark of players like Lookman.
His return, even for a brief cameo, suggests that the club and player have mended their relationship, and he is now set to be a key figure in the team’s push to regain form and challenge for a top spot in Serie A.
Nottingham Forest new head coach Ange Postecoglou has revealed that he was looking forward to working with Nigeria defender Ola Aina before his injury.
The 28-year-old played 87 minutes against Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in the first of Nigeria’s two games during the September International break.
However, he had to be taken off inside ten minutes at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein as the Super Eagles played a 1-1 draw against South Africa, as Nigeria’s World Cup hopes hit the rocks.
Aina’s injury came as a big blow for Ange as he missed his first game in charge against Arsenal. After the extent of the injury was confirmed, the former Australian manager mentioned he’s looking forward to working with the Super Eagles defender.
Atalanta fans are furious with Ademola Lookman, unveiling banners condemning his attempted move to Inter Milan
The Super Eagles forward has been excluded from Atalanta’s 23-man Serie A squad amid escalating tensions
Club director Tony D’Amico confirms sanctions and future decision pending when the transfer window closes
Ademola Lookman’s once bright relationship with Atalanta fans has turned sour after the Nigerian forward’s failed attempt to force a move to Serie A rivals Inter Milan.
The 27-year-old Super Eagles star has become the target of intense criticism from the club’s ultras, and supporters have unveiled demeaning banners and even mocked the Nigerian forward with the new nickname “Guipiman,” a street cleaner.
The outrage has reached a point where some fans have boldly declared they would rather see Atalanta relegated to Serie B than watch Lookman don their shirt again, This Day reports.
Curva Nord 1907, one of the most vocal supporter groups, displayed a banner reading:
“The shirt must be honoured. Another piece of b*llshit will not be tolerated,” Nigeria Stories interpretes in a post.
This hostility stems from Lookman’s attempt to push through a summer transfer to Inter Milan, a move seen by fans as a betrayal given the fierce rivalry between the two clubs.
Lookman’s fallout with Atalanta escalated when Inter Milan submitted a €45 million bid earlier in the summer, only for the Bergamo club to reject it.
Frustrated, the 2024 CAF Player of the Year winner filed a formal transfer request and accused the Bergamo club of broken promises and poor treatment both professionally and personally, after Inter walked away from the deal.
In protest, Lookman reportedly went AWOL, abandoning training sessions, further souring relations with Atalanta’s management and fans.
Despite returning to pre-season training, the Nigerian forward was left out of Atalanta’s 23-man squad for their opening Serie A fixture against newly-promoted Pisa.
This exclusion signals how deeply fractured the relationship has become. Sports director Tony D’Amico confirmed that Lookman is not training with the group and admitted Atalanta’s disappointment with the situation, per Score Nigeria.
What next for Lookman and Atalanta?
The saga has cast a shadow over Atalanta’s preparations for the new season.
According to Daily Post, Sporting director D’Amico stressed that the Bergamo club will evaluate Lookman’s future only after the transfer window closes on September 1. Until then, the Nigerian forward remains in limbo.
“Right now, there’s disappointment. We are sorry for everyone, but we will make assessments at the end of the transfer window,” D’Amico said.
Inter Milan have since pulled out of the move to sign Lookman after failing to meet Atalanta’s €50 million valuation, leaving the forward’s options limited.
With two years left on his contract, the forward risks facing heavy sanctions from the club, including possible fines or prolonged exclusion from the squad.
For Atalanta fans, however, the damage appears already done. Whether Lookman stays or leaves, his once-celebrated status in Bergamo has been tarnished by a transfer saga.
Click to see Nigeria Stories interpretes in a post here
BREAKING: Atalanta supporters have erected a banner with a clear message targeted at Nigerian footballer Ademola Lookman after his return to training earlier this week saying :
“Honour the jersey, more bulls*** will not be justified.” pic.twitter.com/v5EklU4Nz9
— Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) August 23, 2025
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