Twitter is a great place for people to interact with each other. Fans get the chance to learn what their star footballers are up to by reading their tweets.
However, there are moments when footballers forget the purpose of the social media platform and tweet something really stupid that instantly puts them in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Tweets like the following ones are the reasons why most footballers don’t handle their Twitter accounts and let their PR team do the job instead.
Here we look at 10 tweets that embarrassed footballers.
Also read: The greatest Deluded Brendan tweets that will leave you in tears
#10 Saido Berahino
Saido Berahino may not make too many headlines with his performances on the pitch, but the Stoke City man sure did it with his tweet.
On transfer deadline day in 2015, Tottenham offered £23 million for Berahino but West Brom’s chairman Jeremy Peace blocked his move. Out of frustration, the then West Brom man tweeted, “Sad how I can’t say exactly how the club has treated me but I can officially say I will never play Jeremy Peace.”
A small grammatical error led people to question him of his retirement. Not so clever, mate.
#9 Steven Fletcher
Steven Fletcher hasn’t had a stellar career as a player but this tweet made headlines for him.
Four years ago, the 30-year-old Scottish tweeted about the things he was going to do on an off day.
You surely wouldn’t expect a tweet like this from a professional footballer. *facepalm*
#8 Victor Wanyama
Victor Wanyama may have joined Tottenham only recently and come under the spotlight this season, but he was a god amongst Tweeple during his time at Celtic.
On 7 May 2012, the Kenyan tweeted, “I had spaghetti and it was very nice I enjoyed it.”
The fact that makes it funnier is that Spurs fans made a chant out of his tweet.
#7 Ashley Cole
During his time at Chelsea, Ashley Cole was considered one of the best full-backs in the world. But his reputation off the pitch wasn’t the cleanest.
In 2012, the FA had conducted an investigation into the John Terry racial abuse case when one of the commissions doubted Cole’s statement. Cole took to Twitter to say, “Hahahahaa, well done #fa I lied did I, #BUNCHOFTWATS.”
He removed the tweet but FA still punished him and handed him a £90,000 fine.
#6 Jan Vertonghen
Vertonghen has turned himself into one of the best defenders in the Premier League this season. But he was made the butt of all jokes after his extremely controversial tweet.
On 22 May 2012, he tweeted saying, “Little update: We are s***!!!”
What makes it funnier is that he didn’t even consider taking the tweet down. You can still find it on his official Twitter handle.
#5 Ilkay Gundogan
Gundogan gave his fans a mini heart attack when he tweeted,”Joined the Arsenal team before the final game of the US tour. I’ll be back in training soon...”, with a picture of his international teammate Mesut Ozil seated alongside Jack Wilshere and Per Mertesacker.
This tweet proved that the same person handled the accounts of both the players. Busted.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo may be well on his way to a fifth Ballon d’Or crown but this tweet certainly wasn’t one of his better moments.
Ronaldo conducted a boys underwear competition and took to Twitter to congratulate the participants, however, this move backfired spectacularly.
He tweeted, “Thank you all for participating in the CR7 Boys Underwear Competition – it’s been a real pleasure to see all of your photos.”
It was removed immediately from Twitter but not from the football fans’ memories.
#3 Wayne Rooney
Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney is the top goalscorer for his club and one of the best footballers of the generation. But the 31-year-old doesn’t quite know how Twitter works.
Rooney has come up with many epic tweets, but his masterpiece arrived on 18 May 2011 when he tagged ‘himself’ and wrote, “I’ll put u asleep within 10 seconds u little girl. Don’t say stuff and not follow up on it. I’ll be waiting.”
Rooney, you’re a legend, mate!
#2 Dele Alli
Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli is a talented footballer for sure. But his Twitter skills are not exactly on point.
When he was playing for Milton Keynes Dons as a 16-year-old, he tweeted, “Microsoft bought Skype for 8.5 billion dollars. LOL idiots! They could have downloaded it for free!”
If only Microsoft had marketing skills as good as Alli.
Honourable mentions
Joseph Barton
Joey Barton has never been a stranger to controversy. His most famous tweet is the one in which he said,”Neymar is the Justin Bieber of football. Brilliant on the old YouTube. Cat piss in reality...”
Neymar went on to become a Ballon d’Or nominee while Barton was shifting from Burnley to Rangers. Levels.
Steven Taylor
This tweet from former Newcastle United man Steven Taylor sparked some serious controversy and offended a lot of people.
Taylor tagged four of his Newcastle teammates Papiss Cisse, Vurnon Anita, Moussa Sissoko and Haidara, and wrote, “It’s always good to see you guys smiling” posting four pictures which provoked many angry responses.
However, he later admitted that he was playing a joke on his teammates and apologised for the same.
#1 Mario Balotelli
If Mario Balotelli hadn’t already reached the heights of stupidity, he surely did with this tweet.
Balotelli tweeted an adorable picture of his newly arrived pet guinea pig saying,”Finally my little pig arrived! She is only 2 months old! Is a she but I called her SUPER!”
The tweet seemed perfectly fine but the Italian provided more information about the pig, which boggled everyone’s minds.
