Daniele Adani, Antonio Cassano and Nicola Ventola have broken their silence on the collapse of their union with Christian Vieri and Bobo TV, accusing their former friend of ‘killing the spirit’ of their hit show.
Vieri and his friends set up the Twitch Channel, called Bobo TV in honour of Vieri’s nickname Bobo, during the pandemic lockdown.
It has them all coming together from home to discuss the issues of the day in football, in often ironic and outlandish terms, especially when it comes to Cassano.
They gained a cult following and had many special guests on the show that was streamed live into the homes of fans.
It all fell apart last week when Vieri suddenly announced there would be a ‘new format’ and that the others were no longer part of the show.
Now the trio has broken its silence with a shared statement.
“Bobo TV was always a big family, both for those in front of the microphones and those watching. We were always determined to confirm our transparency, so now we speak directly to you.
“Recently the motivation and vision had changed and above all there was a detached form of communication, with little passion or desire to share. Our of respect for all that was done in previous years, Lele asked for a meeting to clear the air.
“At the end of that meeting, the only absolutely clear thing to everyone was that we had very different ideas, intentions and visions. At that stage, it was impossible to continue, so we warned that we would take a few days to think and clarify the doubts all together. We wanted a reassuring and strong response about our future.
“Instead, what we received was a live announcement thanking us quickly for our ‘collaboration’ (suddenly we became collaborators…), despite having last communicated four or five hours earlier.
“So we heard it was ‘right to change’ and then, to round things off, discovered there was an agreement between the Lega Serie A radio channel and Bobo TV.
“Waiting for that meeting between the four members of the group (not one, nor five), the spirit that started Bobo TV was killed and buried. What happens in the locker room must be protected, sacred, defended and honoured. Or at least it should’ve been.
“Nothing is irreversible, but people cannot be taken for a ride. We’ll see you along the way. Lele, Anto and Nick.”
There have been some cryptic hints from Adani on social media that the trio disagreed with Vieri taking Bobo TV towards being part of the Lega Serie A and the ‘system’ when they had become famous railing against it.
They felt that the channel was losing its rebellious nature and role as an outsider in football media, instead becoming a ‘servant’ to the clubs and authority.