Napoli striker Victor Osimhen mocked by his own club on social media; Osimhen's agent Roberto Calenda has threatened to take legal action against the Serie A club; Osimhen scored for Napoli in a win against Udinese on Wednesday, but did not celebrate
Thursday 28 September 2023 07:54, UK
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is reserving "the right to take legal action" against his own club after his team posted a bizarre video to TikTok seemingly mocking the player.
The odd video comes after Osimhen helped the Italian team secure a first league title, the club's first in three decades.
Despite Osimhen singlehandedly bolstering Napoli with 31 goals across all competitions, he became the target of a strange, now-deleted video, shared to the Serie A club's official TikTok account.
The Nigerian expects an apology from the Italian champions with the player and his management wanting the club to firmly distance themselves from the social media post.
Osimhen's agent Roberto Calenda issued a statement on Tuesday night about the incident.
He wrote on X, formerly known as 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."
Calenda added: "We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor".
A few hours after Calenda's comments, Osimhen removed almost all Napoli-related photos from his Instagram, including last season's Scudetto celebrations.
Osimhen also stopped following Napoli on Instagram before re-following them.
Osimhen started up front for Napoli in their Serie A home game against Udinese on Wednesday evening. He scored in a 4-1 win, but refused to celebrate after a smart finish in the 39th minute.
The strange TikTok post featured a clip of the striker's penalty miss from their match against Bologna on Sunday, with an odd, sped-up voice dubbed over the top.
The video comes after there appeared to be tension between Osimhen and Napoli manager Rudi Garcia during the game.
The 24-year-old was seen berating Garcia as he was substituted off with four minutes remaining of the goalless draw.
Garcia told DAZN following the 4-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday: "No one wanted to cause harm, neither with the video nor Victor on social media. They are also instinctive reactions, you can understand.
"On social media he will do what he wants, but I can assure you that he loves the shirt."
The bizarre social media scrap comes after Osimhen, who reportedly captured the interest of Manchester United and Chelsea this summer, did not sign a new contract with the Italian team.
Osimhen's current deal runs through to the summer of 2025.
