Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise recently made the news, but unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.
This came after a screengrab displaying his Instagram conversation with an unknown female went viral, for one very particular reason.
As seen in it, Olise is essentially making his move, before he’s asked whether he plays for Reading.
For clarification, the exchange dates back to early 2021, during Olise’s spell at Madejski Stadium.
In response, he says yes but states that his spell will be short-lived, as he’s ‘moving to the Prem in the summer’.
He eventually also says that he’s onto bigger things, before referring to Reading as a ‘Small Championship club’.
Naturally, Royals’ fans were incensed at the time, as the exchange originally surfaced online last year.
The reasons behind its resurgence are unknown, although it managed to tarnish the 20-year-old’s reputation once again.
However, these images are often deceptive, as editing tools can easily be used to fabricate such conversations, and that seems to be the case here as well.
After the original ‘leak’ last year, Olise himself addressed the situation through an Instagram update.
The midfielder said ‘it’s amazing what people can do with technology nowadays’, which clearly means that the exchange was far from legitimate.
Almost a year on from its emergence, the fake convo continues to circulate like wildfire, while Olise’s statement has been forgotten almost entirely.
The situation typifies just how treacherous social media can be, as a heavily edited image continues to live on, despite the player himself confirming it as illegitimate.