Victor Osimhen was Napoli’s top scorer last season and led the South Italian side to their third scudetto, their first since the time of Diego Maradona. When clubs around Europe wanted to sign the Nigerian ace, the Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis said that $200 million would only cover for Osimhen’s right foot.
In the recent match against Bologna Osimhen appealed for a penalty but missed it and was subbed off by manager Rudi Garcia ending the match in a 0-0 draw. The TikTok account of Napoli thought it would be funny to mock Osimhen by posting the video of him asking for the penalty and then missing it but it backfired heavily.
Praticamente il Napoli ha perculato Osimhen su Tiktok. Sto piangendo pic.twitter.com/LxZanH4Dty
— Francesco Vongola (@Vongola_81) September 26, 2023
The video was deleted after facing backlash mainly from Nigerian fans. It also angered Osimhen heavily so much so that now he wants to leave the club in the next transfer window.
The Nigerian has been offended by the actions of the club and has decided to take legal action against the Italian Champions. His agent, Roberto Calenda has spoken out about the matter saying – “ What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable. We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor”. He also said that the video has caused severe damage to the players’ image.
Furious by this incident, Osimhen has deleted every single post on his Instagram relating to the club and unless Napoli solves this problem they would be in grave trouble as they would have to sell their best player at a rather low price
Victor Osimhen’s stats for Napoli in the 2023/24 season
When Osimhen was signed from Losc Lille in 2020 nobody thought he would be the man to lead Napoli to ultimate glory. Scoring 26 goals over 32 appearances the Nigerian led his team to their first Italian championship in 33 years.
🇳🇬 Victor Osimhen stats for Napoli:
👕 90 games
⚽️ 51 goals
🎯 14 assists
🤝 65 goal contributionsOsimhen on Napoli winning the Champions League: “We continue to dream, we have the team to do it.” pic.twitter.com/SvLKxt7h4b
— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) March 16, 2023
This season his great form has slightly dipped as he has 3 goals from his 5 appearances in the Seria A. The Champions League wasn’t able to provide any further goals for the Nigerian but he was able to find an assist in the game against SC Braga which they won 2-1.
His international record is great though as he scored a hattrick in the African Cup of Nations qualification which makes it no wonder why most Nigerians support Napoli in Europe.
He still poses an attacking threat as he ranks 4th in Seria A for big chances created but also ranks 3rd for the most chances missed in the league. Neither of Napoli’s two forwards Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or Osimhen has been performing as they have in the last season which leaves the defending champions seventh on the table.
🚨🔵 BREAKING: Victor Osimhen could take legal action against Napoli — per his agent Roberto Calenda formal statement.
“What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable. A video mocking Victor was first made public and then, but now… pic.twitter.com/DFlPodbLEz
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 26, 2023
Osimhen is also not in the top 10 for the xG and xA in the Seria A this season let alone across the top 5 European leagues. His conversion rate so far has also been less than 10%. With the ongoing saga where Osimhen might be suing his club for the viral TikTok video, it can be said that the Nigerian superstar won’t be replicating the same numbers for Napoli this season.