Right, let’s get one thing straight: there’s “clickbait”, and then there’s CLICKBAIT.
One involves being factually correct while holding back some information to entice (or bait) the reader to click on the link.
It’s what we do with some of our articles, because that’s just how the game works these days.
If we gave everything away in the headline, then no one would click on it, meaning we wouldn’t make any money to pay writers to do what we do best.
Then there’s the second one, and a prime example of this is what the English version of Calciomercato pulled off on Wednesday afternoon following Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s press conference ahead of Lazio’s Europa League clash against RB Salzburg, using Manchester United in their headline.
This is what the Serbian midfielder said, taken word for word from their article, translated from their Italian website: “I am ready to play, I was ready against Benevento as well but we preferred not to run any risk. It’s nice to play in Serie A but playing against foreign clubs is also great. I am happy for what I’m doing, I am happy because I think I am helping the team.”
“There is always room for improvement. I am happy at Lazio and I am not thinking about anything else. It’s an important game for us tomorrow. We’ll need to be extremely focused to beat Salzburg tomorrow. I’ve played in Austria and I know they are a really good team. They defeated Borussia Dortmund and that was really unexpected”.
Their headline for that? “Lazio star rules out Man Utd move”
It’s worth pointing out that in the article, they write the words “The talented midfielder is being linked with a move to Manchester United but the player has admitted not to be thinking about a future summer move”, which doesn’t exactly mirror the headline, does it?
He isn’t ruling out anything. He’s just saying he’s happy at his current club, and is thinking about the game on Thursday.
If you’re wondering what the Italian version of Calciomercato’s headline for the very same article was, it translated to: “Transfer market? I’m happy at Lazio”.
