Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, has revealed that it was Victor Osimhen’s decision not to play for the club, and they are happy to leave him out.
Speaking before Napoli’s game against Parma, Manna disclosed that Osimhen had informed the club of his desire to leave, forcing Napoli to make alternative plans for the season without him.
Osimhen has been excluded from Napoli’s squad following unsuccessful transfer attempts to Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League and Chelsea.
The move to Al Ahli fell through after Napoli demanded an additional €70 million following an initial agreement.
Meanwhile, a potential transfer to Chelsea collapsed over the player’s wage demands, despite the clubs reaching an agreement.
Speaking to DAZN before the match, Manna provided a candid account of the situation:
“The situation is very clear, it has been since the end of last season. Victor expressed his absolute desire not to stay at Napoli, to not play for Napoli, and we tried to make him happy.
“Then there is a demand and an offer, we thought that we had concluded the negotiations, but then it did not go through. We bought Lukaku, kept Raspadori and Simeone, which was not to be taken for granted.
“At this moment, we maintain the same consistency we had since the start: he expressed the desire to no longer play for Napoli, and so we made other choices.”
When asked about Osimhen’s potential future moves, Manna suggested the player could still transfer in the current window, though he cast doubt on a move to the Saudi Pro League:
“The transfer market is still open, there are many options, but I don’t think Victor will go to Saudi Arabia in this transfer session.”
Napoli’s inability to sell Osimhen has impacted their ability to strengthen the squad as desired.
Despite this setback, the club managed to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea and Scott McTominay from Manchester United.
“Our ideas were clear from the start. We were waiting to sell Victor to finance these operations, but the sale did not arrive, and the President took on the responsibility to invest and reboot. He took on all the risk, he was incredible,” Manna added.
