18 hours ago
25
Given the way that we operate as a website that aggregates news, we often notice trends in a variety of different ways.
Over the past 48 hours, there has been an abundance of rumours about Victor Boniface joining Milan. From the reliable sources, this quickly developed from contacts between the clubs to an agreement being in place, and now everything is in place for a loan with option to buy move.
Gauging social media and our own comment section, it would not be outlandish to say that the reaction to the move has been largely positive. Boniface is a top-level striker arriving via an advantageous formula and for figures that are not beyond Milan’s reach.
Of course there are some concerns, such as the fact it is only one year of guarantee (he may not permanently sign, in essence) for a €5m loan fee, and his injury record is the biggest doubt. However, what we have seen from La Gazzetta dello Sport has gone well beyond proportional criticism.
In the last 48 hours, the following headlines have appeared on their website, and all are different articles that are negative about the deal:
📰 “AC Milan, Boniface is a risky option: in 2025, more games missed than goals scored.”
📰 “Condition, injuries, arguments with teammates… here’s why Leverkusen wants to sell Boniface.”
📰 “AC Milan, no Hojlund. The reserve choice Boniface is coming.”
📰 “Boniface, AC Milan fans protest on social media: ‘Two broken cruciate ligaments’, ‘And his character…'”
📰 “Boniface’s medical has been postponed for Milan. He failed his tests in Saudi Arabia.”
📰 “Postponed medicals, limited playing time, and… Boniface is an unknown quantity, and Allegri still has to wait for the attack.”
This is beyond one or two articles highlighting the concerning aspects of a particular operation. This is a bizarre orchestrated media campaign that seems to have been conducted from the top, unless each individual writer has an axe to grind with the Nigerian.
One of the most remarkable aspects is the article which scrapes only the reactions from underwhelmed fans and pins the negative feeling on supporters, as if La Gazzetta are not contributing to it or even creating it themselves.
Other targets such as Dusan Vlahovic and Rasmus Hojlund never got the same treatment, despite the respective concerns. There was no criticism about Vlahovic’s attitude, nor Hojlund laying out demands for his own exit despite showing a limited scoring ability.
Sadly, we are not naive enough to believe that perfect impartiality exists, especially in the biggest news organisations. In the end they may be right – Boniface could miss 30 games and prove to be not what Milan needed. Nonetheless, campaigns like this need to be highlighted, because so many take the word as gospel.
English (US) ·