Since breaking onto the European football scene following his big-money to Napoli four years ago, Victor Osimhen has not run out of positive headline-making accomplishments: from scoring the goals that propelled the club to a first Serie A title in decades, to becoming the first Nigerian winner of CAF’s African Footballer of the Year award this century.
There have, however, been one too many occasions when the 25-year-old has found himself making the news for incidents that neither himself nor his admirers would have found very flattering.
Here are four of such situations.
Victor Osimhen's social media ‘battle' with Napoli
It was bad enough that Victor Osimhen missed a penalty with which Napoli might have won a league game against Bologna in September last year. But a ridiculous video his own club posted to their official TikTok platform shortly afterwards, which seemed to mock the striker's spotkick woes, only inflamed the situation.
Osimhen reacted by removing any images of himself in a Napoli shirt from his social media accounts, while his agent threatened legal action against the club. This gave the impression that the relationship between both parties was broken beyond repair, only for a new deal to be agreed and signed mere months later, bizarrely enough.
Technically, Osimhen did nothing wrong in this instance, but the incident is not one that would be remembered very fondly, especially for a reaction that many considered heavy-handed.
Victor Osimhen's tirade against Finidi George
Osimhen missed Nigeria's first two games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying series in June this year due to a late-season injury, and was particularly unimpressed by uncorroborated remarks attributed to erstwhile Nigeria trainer Finidi George questioning his commitment.
The reaction was, again, completely overboard, as the reigning CAF Player of the Year went on a scathing social media rant against Finidi — who, in any case, was already on his way out after the briefest of stints as Super Eagles boss — that only further muddied the waters.
It did nothing to make him come across any less volatile and hot-headed than many have observed him to be over the years.
Victor Osimhen's feud with teammate's camp
The last couple of seasons — and especially Napoli's 2022/23 title-winning campaign — have seen Victor Osimhen share the spotlight at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with Georgian attacker Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Both have flourished alongside one another on the pitch for the Partenopei, but, away from it, a rivalry, fanned by the media and the fans, has simmered.
That dynamic was made no healthier by Kvaratskhelia's agent suggesting earlier this year that a supposed lack of ambition on Osimhen's part may see him accept a potentially lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League.
Osimhen was certainly within his rights to reply, but what he chose was another over-the-top shot, describing Mamuka Jugeli, the agent, as “a piece of filth and a disgrace” on Instagram, with a few choice words for extra spice.
Victor Osimhen's nightclub filming incident
It is, no doubt, a frustrating period for Osimhen right now, as his demands to leave Napoli and failure to lock in an ideal destination so far sees him in limbo.
At a night-club over the weekend in Napoli to unwind, it certainly did not help that the Nigeria international got wound up by another patron's attempt to film him on a smartphone.
Osimhen was subsequently seen forcing his way through the crowd towards said person in a seemingly menacing manner.
The incident could see him cop disciplinary action from a club that he may well never even represent again, should his summer aspirations ultimately materialise.
