The cause of Victor Osimhen's failed move to Premier League giants Chelsea on transfer deadline day in England a week ago has been revealed.
In a conversation arranged by former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, Osimhen poured his heart out to Arise News, detailing how his transfer to Chelsea fell through.
Last December, the reigning African Player of the Year signed a new contract at Napoli with a release clause of 130 million euros valid for foreign clubs.
However, the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup winner claims his mental health was seriously affected at Napoli after the TikTok incident and there was no going back in his decision to depart the Diego Maradona Stadium, despite manager Antonio Conte pleading with him to stay, contrary to reports in the media.
Osimhen did not make an appearance for Napoli during pre-season preparations and was not considered for their Serie A games as his defiance led him to be frozen out of the team.
The Nigeria international suggested that Chelsea disrespected him by directly negotiating a swap deal with Napoli as far back as the start of August without informing him
Chelsea were ready to use Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku as a makeweight in their efforts to sign the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) silver medallist, but no agreement was reached.
Before the Blues came in on deadline day, Osimhen had already agreed personal terms with Al-Ahli but Napoli frustrated his move to the Saudi Pro League by making outrageous demands.
"He claims Chelsea completely disrespected him, negotiating a swap deal without his consent," Aaron Akerejola posted on Arise News YouTube channel.
"Thirty minutes after the deal with Al-Ahli was off, Chelsea finally reached out to Osimhen through co-owner, Hansjörg Wyss, offering him 130,000 pounds per week.
"Chelsea tried to arm-twist him with the claim he wanted £500,000-a-week.
"According to Mikel Obi who was helping engineer that particular deal, nothing like that was actually put out there."
Osimhen rejected the offer from Chelsea, claiming that 43 per cent of the wages goes to the British government, 20 percent to NHS and another £20,000 for image rights.
Osimhen completed a loan move to Turkish giants Galatasaray before reporting for international duty on Thursday, as Nigeria are set to host Benin Republic on Saturday, September 7 in a 2025 AFCON qualifier scheduled to take place at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.
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