Social media and football's false reality

In 2011, a dreadlocked 18 year old on the back of an outstanding season at Anderlecht walked into the offices of Chelsea Football Club’s Cobham Training Centre and signed a contract.

A couple of loan moves and a permanent move to Everton and the rest, they say, is history.

At the moment Lukaku is among the top earners in world football, this is in addition to the fact that he was signed by Manchester United for a club record fee of £90m.

How has he been able to achieve this feat in so short a time when the medals and notorious first touch don’t reflect his superstar status? Despite these flaws, his stats are impressive.

He holds the record of being the all-time highest goal scorer for Belgium and he’s still only 25.

There is a faster route to global stardom it may seem. This involves something outside the ability to play football. Talent is good but not enough. Grit is also important yet not all that is required.

These elements are important without a doubt, as lacking both will lead to being found out. Ask Ali Dia, the purported cousin of George Weah. Don’t sweat it if you’ve never heard of him.

He shouldn’t have made it to the big stage but for a glitch in the matrix of football and Graeme Souness’ desperation.

This is where the journey gets interesting. It appears that having an active social media account is a requirement to hit the heights in football. The glitz and glamour isn’t for musicians and movie stars alone. Enter the new era footballer, the modern day superstar.

A very active social media is a necessity. Uploading videos and pictures highlighting your strong points. The games, goals, tricks, flicks or even assists are just a click away from being consumed by the teeming fans. Journalists don’t have to be the only ones telling their story. They do it themselves. It builds their brand and clubs, sadly, are falling for it.

Being active on social media may seem intrusive. It’s now a mainstay in the repertoire of footballers. Gone are the days when players can enjoy the solitude of private life. The superb N’golo Kante, for all his reclusive mien, became more active on Instagram following his move to Chelsea.

N’Golo Kante during his time with Leicester. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

It may not as a surprise that retired footballers are also joining in the frenzy. Social media appears necessary to stay relevant. Sponsors want footballers with huge followership to sell their merchandise. It’s all about numbers: followers, tweets, likes, retweets and a bunch of several other internet lingos.

Academy players are not left out of the malaise. It makes one wonder if only they spend half as much time mastering their craft as they do on social media users they would be the better for it. For all its positives social media can also pose an unnecessary distraction even lead to depression as a result of trolling and cyber bullying.

The ball literally is in the pitch of the footballer, pun intended. A lot of things done or posted on social media should be done in circumspect, especially for players coming through.

They should pursue honing their skills rather than superstardom.

By the way the jury is still out on Lukaku delivering regularly on the biggest stage against the top teams.

And finally, the international break is upon us. Time to click the snooze button on real football and labor through dead rubber fixtures.