Today we live in a day & age where what you post online is the true representation of a person's life. For footballers, they get judged twice over by what they do on the pitch and for what they post on the internet. Sometimes it’s what they post on the net that counts for more than their performances.
Gone are the days when a Tony Adams or a Lee Dixon earned their craft on the pitch, these are times where a Mitchy Batshuayi can do more for his career on the web than at Stamford Bridge.
Regardless of whether we like it or not, social media has changed the dynamics of football forever. With this comes an insight into peculiar behavioural patterns. The internet allows us a deeper insight into the lives of footballers we once had no access to it. Now depending on how addicted an individual is, we can see even more.
Here are 5 footballers that are completely addicted to social media.
#5 Michy Batshuayi
Correct me if I'm wrong but I actually think Mitchy Batshuayi has sent out more tweets than minutes he's played at Chelsea. This season Batshuayi has played 118 minutes for Chelsea, he's tweeted 2699 times. If that doesn't show you where his career is positioned right now, nothing will.
If you go down his timeline you'll see fun, joy and happiness everywhere. Some would put his social media antics down to his eccentric personality, others would say he's just bored. Regardless, the Belgian lets the whole world know what he's thinking through his twitter account, every day.
Whether it's game day or not, the 23-year old is forever tweeting about football, music or sometimes even FIFA 17. Some have criticised the youngster for spending too much time on the internet rather than focusing on his football. However, if Antonio Conte's not going to play to him, he has to keep himself entertained somehow.
#4 Andrey Arshavin
When he wasn't scoring epic winners against Barcelona or scoring four at Anfield, the little magician was lighting up the worldwide web. Before Twitter or Facebook was a thing, Andrey Arshavin was telling his fans daily what he was doing. Fast forward a decade and now everyone's doing the same thing.
As one of the first and best to ever do it, Arshavin has always been a delight to follow on social media. After making London his home for one year, the little Russian revealed a personal side to him that not many knew of. The winger started an online blog and fans absolutely loved it.
The blog revealed so much about his personal life to the fans. Topics ranging from his favourite beer all the way to what kind of music he likes interested fans. He was one of the pioneers to truly embrace fan interaction, holding several Q&As back in 2009.
I'm a firm believer that if it weren't for the online ramblings of Arshavin, we wouldn't be seeing the shenanigans of modern day footballers on the internet today. The Russian was addicted to the internet before being addicted to the internet was cool.
#3 Mario Balotelli
As the notorious bad boy of football, Mario Balotelli has never been shy to express his thoughts on social media. Remember the infamous 'Man Utd.....LOL." tweet? It blew up social media at the time and it now has over 245,000 retweets.
It's one of the most interacted with tweets in the history of social media. The tweet was sent out after United embarrassingly lost 5-3 to Leicester City. As well as causing a stir around the football world, the post even initiated a police investigation. Crazy eh.
Since then the Italian native has had multiple run-ins with the FA over his tweets, the guy simply can't not post outrageous things. Instead of laying low at his now new club in France, Balotelli once again set the internet alight last year.
This time the 26-year old aimed his bow & arrow at Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher. The two comically traded insults with Carragher concluding that Mario was one of Liverpool's worst ever signings alongside El-Hadji Diouf. Mario is one of the few unique individuals to do as much talking as he does on the internet as he does off it.
#2 Neymar
As the Pele of his generation, it'd be remiss of Neymar not to be a social media addict. With 70 million Instagram followers, 59 million fans on Facebook and 27 million followers on Twitter, the Brazilian truly does have a gigantic audience to cater for.
At one point Neymar got so addicted to posting online that Barcelona officials had to ask him to calm down on his frequency of posting. However, back then it was seen as an embarrassment to be so active on the internet, now it's seen as marketing & branding. On average, the Brazilian posts 24 times a day.
Neymar was one of the first footballers to turn their social media activity into a marketing tool. Not only does he promote himself but he also uses his mass following to champion certain charitable programs. This kind of influence can spread awareness of growing problems in the world.
The 25-year old is a prime example of how powerful constant social media posting can be.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
As the undisputed king of football, Cristiano Ronaldo has translated his success on the pitch, to the internet. The Portuguese forward has mastered the art of staying relevant 24/7 around the clock. If he's not scoring a hat-trick at the Bernabeu, he's getting a million likes on Instagram, if he's not doing that he's trending on Twitter and so on.
Ronaldo is literally the centre of attention every single minute of the day and his brand now thrives on it. As the most followed person on social media, Cristiano Ronaldo's online addiction is more than justified.
In a digital era, Ronaldo is undoubtedly the kingpin of the internet and he will stop at nothing to stay at the top. The man now works around the clock, producing content through different media platforms. On YouTube, he's a part of several skits that show him doing charitable deeds as well as performing amazing skills.
With over 120,000,000 Facebook fans, Cristiano Ronaldo is the epitome of having a useful addiction.
Also Read: Wayne Rooney's old tweets will make your day.. and also your night
