Nigeria star Victor Boniface made a late loan move to Werder Bremen in the summer. A proposed move to Serie A giants AC Milan fell through due to a reported failure during his medical examination, Soccernet.ng reports.

But the Nigerian was not worried about it.

“When the move to Milan failed, I was on TikTok with my friends,” he said at a Bundesliga media roundtable this week, insisting that it was just another day in a footballer’s life. “A lot of things are happening behind the scenes that you guys don’t know about.

“And to tell you the truth, I love playing in Germany. I love Germany.”

But there was no longer a place for him at Bayer Leverkusen, the team that he helped to win its first Bundesliga title in its unbeaten 2023/24 season under Xabi Alonso.

With new manager Erik ten Haag finding him surplus to requirements behind Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane, Boniface made a loan move over to Werder Bremen, a less glamorous side but one with a lot of promise. Ten Haag himself was sacked a few hours into the new season.

“I missed 16 games, almost 20 games, and I contributed 8 goals. I was the second-highest scorer in Leverkusen. But they said it was a bad season, I’m trying to understand all this,” said an incredulous Boniface.

Looking on the bright side

Boniface has settled into life in Bremen. Though he has yet to score, his overall contribution to the team is increasing after early struggles with his form. He has contributed an assist and hopes to do more.

“My dream when I was young was to come to a country in Europe, if I earn 300 euros and play football. Being at this level that I am today, I am grateful to God. I never believed I would be here,” he said.

“I came from struggle, I have had injuries that end careers, but I am really grateful,” he added.

The striker has come under some criticism from his coach about his weight and positional play. But he says he doesn’t see all that has been quoted in the media.

Puzzling social media posts

The German media has found many of his social media posts indecipherable. Bild has called it “cryptic” while others have stated it is confusing.

His most famous but now deleted post was: “If you waste your money on too many women, you won't achieve anything in life. Find one or two women and settle down. Three women at most, or if you're going through a lot, four are okay too.”

“My caption doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t affect anybody. If I come online and I insult somebody, this is something different,” said Boniface.

“I make a funny post, and I leave. If the media makes it into something bigger, that’s on them. They can do whatever they like.

“My posts mean no harm to anybody, it doesn’t affect anybody, they’re just a funny caption. I can’t make everybody in this world happy.”

Boniface said he has attempted to stop posting and it was also queried. “They said this guy doesn’t post again, he must be going through a lot of things. But when I post, they complain.”

A Nigerian house in Werder

Werder Bremen has the most Nigerian dressing room in the Bundesliga. Alongside Boniface, the club has another Nigerian international in defender Felix Agu, as well as Nigeria-eligible Justin Njinmah. Swiss international Isaac Osas Schmidt is another player with an Edo heritage like Boniface.

“They are top professionals,” said Boniface of his Nigerian colleagues.

He added: “I love Germany, trust me, I had good offers before coming to Bremen, to go to England, but I said I wanted to stay in Germany.

“I love it here, it’s been good, and hopefully I can give the fans what they have been waiting for. I hope it happens soon.”

Bremen fans would hope that Boniface makes good on his immense talent that earned him the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award less than two years ago.

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