Super Eagles and Werder Bremen striker Victor Boniface has opened up on his tough start to life with his new club, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 24-year-old scored 32 goals and provided 10 assists in 61 games for Bayer Leverkusen, winning all domestic titles possible with Die Werkself.
After a failed attempt to join Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in January 2025, Boniface was linked with a move to AC Milan in August.
The deal had progressed, and just pended on the result of a medical that didn’t go in the striker’s favour as the Italian side pulled out due to his injury history.
Get Our Sports News First – Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!
In a surprising turn of events, the former Union St.Gilloise striker joined Werder Bremen on a season-long loan, a move no one expected.
At the Weser Stadium, Boniface has had his share of problems as well. Weight gain, dieting concerns, pressure from the coach, and the loss of his goalscoring touch have seen pressure mount on the 2024 Bundesliga Rookie of the Year.
Victor Boniface reacts to his poor start with Bremen
In seven games for Horst Steffen’s side, the Leverkusen loanee hasn’t scored a goal, while the club coach has mentioned his poor positioning might have played a part in that. Boniface revealed he intentionally chose not to read such comments.
“Firstly, I’ve stopped reading everything I see online, because we don’t know what is true and what isn’t.
So, I haven’t seen any comments from the coach,” the Super Eagles forward said in an interview with OmaSports TV.
“I’m new to the club, I’m new to this place, this city and everything. Sometimes, in football, you go to a club and it clicks.
“Now, I’m here, and people are talking about how I’ve not scored, but if you watch the games, you can see what I contribute to the team.
“Like I said, the media is a lot of things. When you don’t score, then people want to talk, but trust me, they don’t know anything about me.
“I’ve seen this, I know a lot of these things. I’m a strong guy, so those things don’t affect me.
Despite the comments and ongoing scrutiny, the 13-cap Super Eagles forward admitted he’s still putting in the work to help himself, and asked for a little grace moving forward.
“In terms of my career, I’ve really tried to help myself. I’m trying to be better every time. I think this is my first bad start since I’ve been in Germany, no?
“I played about four or five games with no goal involvements, but my first season in Germany was great.
“No one talks about the second season, which was great as well.
“Why? I missed almost 16 games, and I still contributed eight goals, the second-highest goalscorer in Leverkusen, and they said it’s bad. I don’t understand.
“I’ve come to understand that most people don’t watch these games; it’s just about the numbers, and they resort to insulting me.
“It doesn’t affect me. If I’m happy, I give everything. Many things are going on outside, but people just focus on the bad stuff.
“But no problem, it’s not for you to understand, and I won’t speak about it now, not yet,” Boniface concluded.
The Werder forward will be hoping to score his debut goal for Die Werderaner today when they play against VfL Wolfsburg.