In today’s society, social media is a huge part of our daily life and everybody who uses social media on a daily basis knows that celebrities are the ones that are the most popular. Footballers who play in some of the top leagues in the world can be identified as “celebrities” and “super-stars” and some of them have embraced their celebrity status by posting pictures and videos of their day-to-day life. In this article, I will go through social media’s impact on football.
Most liked footballers on Facebook - List taken from theweek.co.uk
Cristiano Ronaldo: 122.6m followers
Lionel Messi: 89.5m
Neymar: 60.8m
James Rodriguez: 32.9m
Mesut Ozil: 31.5m
Most followed footballers on Twitter - List taken from theweek.co.uk
Cristiano Ronaldo: 68.2m
Neymar: 37.2m
Mesut Ozil: 21.2m
Andres Iniesta: 21.2m
Gerard Pique: 17.6m
The positives
Many people find it easy to criticise footballers’ frequent use of social media by calling it “unprofessional” and “inappropriate” but it is hard to deny social media’s role in creating a more personal relationship between the players and the fans. Footballers are adored by people all around the world and therefore the fans are very interested in what footballers are up to. Social media is also an opportunity for the players to thank the fans for their incredible support right after a game. When players express their gratitude it creates a good and positive atmosphere around the club.
Roy Keane - Ipswich Press Conference
The Manchester United legend, Roy Keane, has been very vocal about technology and cell phones. A journalist’s phone once went off during a press conference when Keane was the manager of Ipswich. Keane was probably going mental in his mind but on the outside he managed to contain himself and talked to the journalist in a calm manner despite dropping a curse word in between.
Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFulcDJDJEU
Gerard Pique and Roy Keane
A recent story of a 18-year old Gerard Pique’s experience in 2006 with Roy Keane has been making the rounds for the last few weeks. Pique told a story about when his cell phone went off in the dressing room before a game and how Roy Keane reacted to it. Pique said that Keane looked like Jack Nicholson in The Shining by the way he walked around the dressing room trying to identify the sound.
Here is a little part from Pique’s story:
"He screams out to everybody, 'Whose phone is that?!'. Silence. He asks again. Silence. He asks a third time. 'Whose. Bloody. F*****g. Phone. Is. That?!' Finally, I spoke up, like a little boy. Very softly, I said, 'I'm so sorry. It's mine’ (Sky Sports)
It is highly unlikely that any other player today will react the same way as Keane because nowadays most players are constantly on their phone, especially after a game. Technology was very, very different in 2006.
Lovren story - Ugly part of social media
In 2015, the Liverpool defender, Dejan Lovren, deactivated his Instagram account after having received abuse and death threats from Liverpool fans after his performance in a 3-0 home defeat to West Ham. Lovren’s story is a part of social media that shows the ugliness of the internet and shows how cruel fans can be to a point where it becomes a felony.
Funny Tweets
On my last assignment I wrote about the top 5 funniest footballers in the history of the Premier League. On that assignment I wrote a lot about funny tweets that footballers had tweeted out. A Twitter story that I didn’t mention was the legendary “Victor Wanyama Spaghetti story”. Back in 2012, when Wanyama was a Southampton player, he tweeted this:
For some reason, the tweet has received over 44k retweets and was turned into an internet phenomenon. When Wanyama signed for Tottenham in 2016, Tottenham continued with the joke and announced his arrival by tweeting this:
The Wanyama story is a prime example of how simple humour on social media can bring football fans together.
Conclusion (and personal opinion) Many people find it easy to dish out on social media and to criticise footballers constantly using social media, but, in my opinion, social media makes football more fun and entertaining. Football is about the fans and social media gives the average fan a huge platform to express his opinion on matters concerning football. Social media also brings out the worst out of some people and can be extremely harmful. I believe that in a few years, more football fans will think twice before posting a negative and hurtful comment.
Post by: Ólafur Hálfdan Pálsson
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