Amaju Pinnick slams Napoli for mistreating Victor Osimhen despite his impacts

By Monsurah Olatunji

Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick has criticized Napoli for their alleged mistreatment of Victor Osimhen, despite his significant contributions to the club.

Osimhen, who was instrumental in leading Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years and earned the top scorer award, saw his relationship with the club deteriorate rapidly. After a failed move during the European transfer window, he joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal in the Turkish Super Lig.

While some have pointed to his conflict with Finidi George as a reason for his failed transfers, Pinnick places the blame squarely on Napoli for their perceived lack of gratitude towards the 25-year-old striker.

“I’m not confined to Nigeria; I have a global perspective, so there are limits to what I can say. But I can state unequivocally that Osimhen gave his all to Napoli,” Pinnick told Arise News.

“He achieved something no one had done in 30 years—he single-handedly won the league for Napoli. Yet, despite his remarkable achievement and being named African Footballer of the Year, Napoli’s response was lackluster. They didn’t even post about his award on the day it was announced; it took them two days. What does that say?”

Pinnick continued, “Did they honor him in any special way for being named African Player of the Year? There are many things I could say, but it’s clear that Napoli was not fair to Osimhen.”