Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is at the centre of an extraordinary row with his own club after threatening legal action following a bizarre TikTok post that seemingly mocks the striker.
Osimhen, one of the most sought-after players in world football, was on Manchester United’s radar in the summer but remained in Serie A as the club stood firm in their valuation of him, said to be well in excess of £100million.
He scored 31 goals across all competitions as Napoli won the title for the first time in 30 years last term but his agent has said the player reserves “the right to take legal action” against his own club following the social media post.
A TikTok video, since deleted, featured a clip of Osimhen’s miss from the penalty spot in Napoli’s 0-0 draw against Bologna last Saturday with a bizarre sped-up voice dubbed over the top.
Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda said on X, formerly Twitter: “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 belatedly, deleted.
“A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news.
“We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor”.
Osimhen, 24, berated Napoli manager Rudi Garcia as he was substituted with four minutes to go in the stalemate.
Champions Napoli have endured a difficult start to the campaign and are seventh in the table ahead of their home match against Udinese on Wednesday.
Their star striker has a contract at the club until 2025 and has yet to commit himself to a new deal amid interest from teams across Europe.
The club’s chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis said last summer they would only sanction a deal for Osimhen if they received a major offer.
“If a more-than-indecent offer were to arrive, we’d have to come to terms with it,” he said. “We have found great players in the past and we would be able to find others – don’t worry.”
