Nigerians and Italians have shown the reigning African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen their support following his rift with Napoli.
Osimhen was expected to join any of Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia and Chelsea on transfer deadline day but none of the moves went through.
The two transfers collapsed for different reasons as Napoli pushed Al-Ahli too far with the request of an extra €5m in bonuses when agreeing €70m plus €10m in add-ons.
As for Chelsea, Sky Sport Italia reports that it was Osimhen who turned them down because they only offered €4m in set wages, with the other €4m based on performance, specifically €2m if they qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
Napoli on Saturday officially excluded Osimhen from their Serie A squad list for the 2024/25 season with him and Mario Rui both out of the project.
The club’s relationship with Osimhen is broken as the Partenopei also want the Super Eagles striker to leave but on their terms.
Following his exclusion from their Serie A squad list, Nigerian football fans and even Italians on X gave their support to the 25-year-old.
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Nigerian sports journalist, Buchi Laba wrote: “Victor Osimhen didn’t stay back at Napoli because he wanted to play.
“He did because they wrecked two big moves and were pushing him to a club that offered him peanuts.
“He was never going to get bullied and stood his ground. At the end of the day, he will be getting paid his weekly wages, playing or not.”
Ridwan Oke wrote: “I will be there for Napoli and Antonio Conte’s downfall Insha Allah. Osimhen has done nothing wrong here.
“Nigerians piling on him for not taking Chelsea’s ridiculous offer are quite funny because they will never accept same if they were in his shoes.”
Nigerian investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo posted: “Victor Osimhen might have his well-documented foibles but Napoli are a despicable club to have been that cruel to the highest goalscorer who spearheaded the charge to their first league title in 33 years.
“An ungrateful club that I hope will not taste another title for the next 33 years.”
Italian Football TV wrote: “The Osimhen-Napoli situation is a disaster for everyone. On Friday, he was expected to join either Chelsea or Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. Neither materialized.
“Today (Saturday), he has been stripped of his number nine shirt and is excluded from Napoli’s Serie A squad list for the season.
“The Saudi transfer market closes in September but the issue is the team that wanted Victor signed Ivan Toney yesterday (Friday) and they only had space for one more signing.
“And to think that only two years ago, the Nigerian striker was the hero of Napoli’s first Scudetto in 33 years.”
Photo journalist, Tobi Adepoju also known as Oganla Media posted: “Victor Osimhen will stay at Napoli. He will fight for his shirt, get games and score plenty of goals.
“He will also handle Antonio Conte as a professional. Victor’s mentality is extraordinary.”
An Italian, Luca De Martino wrote as shared by Germany-based Nigerian sports journalist, Oma Akatugba on his X account: “Hello Oma, this is for Victor. Dear Victor, we have reached the end of this journey.
“You don’t know me but I loved you, I love you and I will love you forever because you gave me eternal moments of happiness and above all, you gave me lightness and at the same time a great teaching: never give up.
“You are the living example of how to react to life’s difficulties, you are a legend. Thank you for existing, thank you for everything. Good luck, I love you.”
