Jose Mourinho has critised Victor Osimhen for his behaviour on the pitch and says the former Napoli forward ‘dives too much’.
Mourinho, who is now managing Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig, was speaking ahead ahead of his team’s clash with Kasimpasa S.K this Sunday.
Over the summer, Osimhen rejected a big money transfer to Saudi Arabia and fell out with the management team at Napoli. He was removed from the Serie A first team squad before being sent to Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal having negotiated a contract extension (to maintain his value) and lower release clause with Napoli.
It was, in every sense, a transfer saga which may not yet be over as Osimhen also ensured his Galatasaray contract includes a clause that will allow him to leave Istanbul if one of the top 10 clubs he has listed come calling in January.
As part of a television interview with Turkish media Mourinho praised Osimhen as a player, calling his signing fantastic for the league and his new club.
“Osimhen is a fantastic player, he is a player that if I was in a club with the potentinal to pay £70-75m I would buy. He is a fantastic player,” he started, “Of course, he came [to Turkey] in different circumstances but it doesn’t matter the circumstances. What matters is that Galatasaray have got a really fantastic player.”
But, it did not take long for the Portuguese to admit how he does not like the 25-year-old striker’s behaviour on the pitch.
Mourinho added: “I don’t have problems with Victor, in fact we have a very good relationship but every time I play against him I speak with him because I don’t like the way he behaves. He dives too much.
“The last time we played Roma against Napoli, I had this conversation with him and I told him ‘look, you are one of the two best African players. It is you and [Mo] Salah. In the past Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, George Weah, you cannot behave like this’.
“He dives too much and that’s my problem with him. After 10 minutes we are fine and have a good relationship. For the Turkish league [his arrival] is fantastic and for Galatasaray it is fantastic too.”