Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has accused his former club, Napoli, of treating him ‘like a dog’ in the final days of his time with the Serie A side.

Osimhen revealed this in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport, stating that the issue with Napoli started in late 2023 after the club’s TikTok account posted a video mocking him for missing a penalty.

In response to the video, which many observers believed had racist undertones, the 27-year-old deleted all pictures relating to Napoli from his Instagram account. He claimed the club used to turn the fans against him.

“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,” the 2023 African Footballer of the Year said.

He added, “I deleted photos of me in a Napoli shirt from my Instagram, and they seized the opportunity to turn the fans against me.”

Speaking further, Osimhen said Napoli’s hierarchy was unhappy with his decision to delete the pictures, prompting the club to rescind the ‘gentleman’ agreement between the two parties for the player to leave in the 2024 summer transfer window.

In his bid to secure a move, Osimhen alleged that he was treated like ‘a dog’ as Napoli were dictating to him the clubs he could transfer to. He was eventually frozen out of the team before he left for Galatasaray on loan in September 2024.

“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,” Osimhen stated.