Probably one of the biggest differences between soccer in the early years of this century and now is the influence of social media.
While soccer stars have always had a reputation for living glorious lifestyles, the rise of various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok in the last decade has given fans direct access to their favourite players and their lives.
What this has meant is that the following and fandom of players has also increased manifold as these platforms help players engage with their fans in a personal fashion.
And it's fair to say we've seen many colourful social media posts from soccer players over the years!
From the below captivating post by Cristiano Ronaldo to Gerard Pique's now infamous 'Se Queda' post over Neymar's exit from Barcelona, there have been some legendary moments by soccer stars on social media.
👍🏼👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/OHd7Hk1Hdu
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 4, 2016
In fact, the fandom on social media is such that many star footballers are more popular than the leaders of their country!
Let's take a look at some of the most popular soccer players in the world as of January 2023, across various social media platforms.
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