Should players stay away from Social media?

0
1398

This generation of football is surely a strange one. We have 19-year-olds cringing while seeing their name show up on the substitution board, demand moves away from clubs when others of their age would happily accept whatever comes their way, drive around in luxury vehicles and last but not the least, brag about it on social media.

Almost every football page on Facebook picks up the news when a player does something extravagant on their Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram handles. Why is there so much scrutiny in their activities?
David Beckham is a torchbearer for players who took to fashion and media when not playing football. Surprisingly, he didn’t let his personal life affect his performance on the pitch. Can the same be said about footballers of today?
Embed from Getty Images
Considering the fact that there exists a professional footballer who nearly set his own house on fire using firecrackers, it’s hard to say.

Football wages have gone up astronomically. To put that into perspective, Neymar currently is on course to earn a whopping €296 million in 5 years times, that roughly translates to yearly wages of €60 million. Comparing that, he would be toe-to-toe with David Cote, CEO of Honeywell.
Embed from Getty Images
Perhaps it is the growing popularity of the sport that tends to shift a lot of, albeit unwanted, attention and glare of the media upon football and footballers.

A footballer of today is a celebrity, and nothing less. Every aspect of his personal life is out in the open. If he would be out partying with friends; expect a few snaps from the local paparazzi to feature it on their Page 3.

If a player takes his other half for a quite date before an important game and fails to perform; fingers will be pointed towards his other commitments that others view as avoidable. There is nothing personal left for a footballer anymore.

A very famous quote goes along the lines, ‘There exists a fine line between arrogance and confidence.’

Is that arrogance on their part? Not in a million years.

What these social media trolls who mercilessly call out footballers for wasting time and money do not know, is the work done behind the camera lens.

Years of sweat, blood and tears filled with dedication and commitment are the cornerstone to every footballers’ success story. They compete and beat an enormous pool of hopefuls to get their final calling.

Yes, they earn truckloads of money; but that is because they are a part of a generation that performs week in-week out and entertains a million fans around the world.

For our own betterment, let them be. We are wasting our time and effort in trying to bring them down.

Read: Liverpool’s predicted line-up against Crystal Palace.