The media is full of clickbait, and never so much as during the transfer window. Or during a crisis. Most of the time, their false stories are allowed to disappear into the vast echo chamber that they originated from. But on Tuesday, there was one story that was not allowed to stand. Milan took a stand and posted a contradiction to a false story that La Gazzetta dello Sport had run that day regarding their negotiations with Leão. They went so far as to point out that not only was the story completely unfounded, it was harmful to the Club and the player. While this is a very rare occurrence, that the Club would make such a strong statement to correct misinformation, it brings up a very crucial point: the importance of facts in the face of crisis.
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| So important to separate fact from fiction |
The incident in question was a piece in which La Gazzetta claimed that negotiations with Leão had broken down completely, and Milan were preparing to sell him in the summer. The Club's official statement, translated read:
"With regard to the article published today by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper entitled: "Leão Milan total breakup," AC Milan would like to clarify that the negotiations with Rafael Leão have not been interrupted. The journalistic narration of an alleged cooling between the parties is not only totally unfounded, but also harmful to the Club and its player. In fact, AC Milan continues the dialogue with Leão and his entourage in a serene and professional atmosphere."
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| Negotiations are ongoing, but misinformation could ruin everything |
This statement was met with cheers and gratitude by fans. They were grateful that Milan stood up and said something instead of letting this kind of story damage their negotiations or the image of the Club or Leão. Ironically, many of these fans are the same ones who regularly spread misinformation about Milan on social media themselves.
For those who are new around here, I have a thing about calling people out for poor behavior, I guess you could say it is part of my brand. People love it when it is about someone else, but are not so excited about it when it is their behavior that is spotlighted. So when times get tough for Milan, a lot of people experience a lot of feelings when I pull their fan card or correct them when they are spewing misinformation in their ragehurt.
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| Even the leader of the Curva Sud said last week that those who cry during this crisis are Inter fans. |
To be clear, I have no problem with anyone expressing their dissatisfaction or upset with the team or results or other Milan-related issues. Personally, I have so many thoughts about these things, I created an entire blog and podcast to speak my mind. However, I will question your support for the team when you disrespect Milan or anyone involved, as is also my right. And, for exactly the same reason Milan corrected La Gazzetta dello Sport this week, I will also correct you when you spew misinformation as you bitch and moan. I view this not so much as a right, but a responsibility.
With the current crash in form, we have all been very upset. However, many have placed blame incorrectly or claimed false things about Milan's transfer strategies, management, ability to fund reinforcements, and more. These lies malign the Club and undercut the hard work of everyone involved. They literally cause harm to the club you claim to support. Even worse, some so-called Milan supporters go so far as to send death threats to opponents online. That is not only despicable, but illegal, and I hope they rot in jail, unable to watch when Milan eventually pull out of this rut.
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| People forget just how many points simply not having Maignan available have cost us |
While this blog and the podcast serve to chronicle Milan's seasons with obvious bias and opinions, I also work very hard to do my research and get my facts straight. The external links are to reliable sources of information, and the internal links are to posts that contain more links to those sources. For example, I recently wrote about my theory as to why Milan's results were so poor. But within that article, I also listed many of the events and factors that are factual that Milan fans seem to have forgotten about. For those who like the brief, condensed version of these facts, I made one for the Twitter crowd:
These and other commonly misinformed facts are also well-documented in these previous posts:
The Milan Goalkeeper Dilemma from January 2023 discussed the goalkeeping situation and that Milan was bringing in Vásquez because Tatarusanu and Mirante's contracts are both up in June.
The Problematic January Transfer Market from December 2022, on why, with 31 players on the roster already, players would need to leave before Milan could invest this transfer window.
Injuries By the Numbers: The Impact So Far from November 2022 lists all of the injuries for the season to that point and demonstrates the physical and psychological impact of missing so many important players for so many matches.
Thank You, Elliott Management from September 2022 chronicles the four year ownership and sale of the Club, what they were and were not responsible for, and highlights the closing date of the sale to RedBird, which was after the summer transfer window closed last year, which impacted our transfer market greatly.
Change of Owners: American Win? Or Cardinal Sin? from June 2022 raised immediate questions about the timing of the sale of the Club immediately following the Scudetto win as well as the financing of the deal. There are still legal questions being raised about this deal, which could also be part of the reason for the lack of investments, as well.
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| We changed owners and CEOs this past year and somehow still managed to stay relatively steady. |
Last summer's difficult mercato issues were chronicled in June and July last year in the following articles:
More Money, More Problems from June, 2022 focused on the expiring contracts, particularly those of Maldini & Massara.
Player Valuations: What's In a Number? also from June 2022. Remember when Roma wanted as much for Zaniolo as City had paid for Haaland? Or that Plusvalenze scandal regarding player valuations that was initially dropped (but now Juve have been penalized 15 points for?) All here.
Mercato Choices: The Price of Instant Gratification written in July of 2022, when fans were upset because the delays cost us certain players in the transfer market, or the club chose not to buy certain older, injury-prone players from a club now under criminal investigation...
The New FFP: Why UEFA Even Took the Word Fair Out of the Title from March of 2022 explains UEFA's newer financial sustainability regulations. Milan were fined €2 million last year for FFP violations, with a €13 million suspended sentence should we be unable to continue to increase revenue and decrease costs.
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| Maldini and the sporting sector have been left holding the ball for Gazidis' exorbitant spending. |
For those who dare disparage those in charge, be careful what you say. Not only do you have a very short memory, according to that author, but you may have forgotten a lot of facts as well:
Pioli is On Fire: The Evolution of Pioli from June 2022
Paolo Maldini: Sporting Mastermind of Milan's Scudetto from June 2022
Mad Mercato from January 2022 summarized Milan's bleak winter transfer window last year in comparison to a couple of other clubs, including Juventus, whose uncontrolled spending and illegal activities surrounding that spending have now cost them 15 points thus far, and Inter, who lost the Scudetto to us last year with a wage bill that was nearly double ours.
Here is another example: Most recently, fans are buzzing about the reports that Milan have just hired Andreja Milutinović as Head of Performance for injury prevention due to so many muscle injuries. As if they've never addressed this. But that is not true. Last summer, they hired Andrea Riboli, PhD, as Head of Sport Science for the same purpose. And the year before that, they had brought in a new Sport Scientist, Marco Luison, as an upgrade to address all of the injuries that had been happening. Spreading misinformation that Milan have never addressed this is harmful to the Club and its reputation. They have been working on this diligently for two years now.
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| Tomori is just another player out with a muscle injury, but Milan have been trying to solve this problem. |
I could go on for a very long time. Don't make me bore you to death with my words. There are over 2,500 written posts here, and there is a wealth of facts of Milan news on the official Milan site, as well as credible news sources. I realize that deciphering the difference between fact and opinion is somehow very difficult for many of you. May I recommend some accredited educational courses in a subject such as Logic? Because that is your responsibility to know as well.
The point of this rant is that facts matter. They matter even more in times of crisis. When your team is struggling and you are spouting nonsense about how they did not invest because they did not want to, you are part of the problem. Or disparaging them about the sins of ownerships past, like letting players go on free transfers that they never even signed – players who never signed onto this project and did not agree to work for this ownership, only for the huge future wages they were promised by previous owners – that does not help the players who did sign onto this project, who are sweating blood for this shirt, being paid next to nothing, and doing it all for your entertainment.
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| The Curva Sud are 100% behind the squad, showing their support this week. |
Now more than ever, your team needs your support. If you cannot support them, then please at least don't be 'harmful to the Club and the players' like La Gazzetta dello Sport. Crying about all of the players you and your wet dreams wish they had signed does no one any good, and claiming they were supposed to sign all of those players is every bit as wrong as La Gazzetta was. We are not Chelsea. Without someone like Boban at Milan to tell us what is really going on, we do not know for sure where the disconnect is in the lack of reinforcements - whether it is Cardinale, Furlani, Maldini, Pioli, or those players like Bakayoko who think that Milan is an all-expenses paid personal gym membership and refuse to leave.
But we do have a lot of facts. There is a lot more going on than what the prepubescent Neanderthals scream with their misspelled tweets. Or what the Curva Sud do or say when they are on their menstrual cycle. Be angry. Be sad. Be hurt. Share your views. But please don't be disrespectful and above all, please don't be ignorant or spread misinformation. We have seen what can happen on social media, and it does not turn out well. If more Milan fans represented the club the way they expect our players to represent the shirt every time they step out onto the pitch, then those players would have all of the support they need to pull out of this in no time. And the Club would not need to call anyone out for spreading misinformation in a time of crisis.
This post inspired by the music of Muse's "Hysteria"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
2:00 AM
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