You know how most official team social media accounts are overwhelmingly corporate? And by “corporate” I obviously mean dull, vanilla, bland and boring? Well Borussia Dortmund doesn’t act that way. The BVB social media accounts take subtle, albeit substantial digs at other clubs.
“Passive-aggressive” is a trendy buzzword right now, but this I guess, aggressive-aggressive. Look at how they announced the sale of midfielder/winger Henrik Mkitharyan to Manchester United yesterday.
“Manchester United have made us a tremendously valuable offer. Had we rejected it, the player would be able to leave for free in 2017,” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a club statement.
“Borussia Dortmund wishes Henrikh Mkhitaryan all the best for the coming season in both the Premier League and in the UEFA Europa League.”
You can view the statement on Facebook here.
BVB could have just said “we wish him the best at United,” without including the phrase Europa League. The Bundesliga club wants you to know that Mkitaryan could be playing in the UEFA Champions League next season had he stayed in Germany. BVB could also have done without mentioning “Micki’s” contract, basically stating how they’re upset that the player didn’t see his deal through.
Of course, they’re upset, but send-off messages are never supposed to contain spite.
Just a month ago, BVB took a swipe at United’s noisy neighbors too. They sent Ilkay Gundogan off to Manchester City with a similar sour grapes sentiment on Facebook, letting the internet know that Gundogan will “leave the eight-time German champions in the summer to join Manchester City, who finished fourth in the English Premier League last season.”
Me-ow! BVB. Me-ow.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram