Football's first tweets... Mario Balotelli, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and more...
Friday 17 April 2020 09:40, UK
Ten years ago this week, the first ever tweet was sent, simply reading: "just setting up my twttr". That was sent by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, paving the way for new levels of fan/footballer interaction.
A massive percentage of Premier League footballers now use the social media platform, with our own Sky Sports Premier League twitter list having over 400 members. All of this means that fans have better access than ever to their favourite players, and that, for better or worse; footballers have a tool to express their thoughts to an audience of millions.
A number of footballers have fallen foul after using Twitter. Who can forget West Brom's Saido Berahino vowing he'd never play for the club's chairman, Jeremy Peace, again?
'Sad how i cant say exactly how the club has treated me but i can officially say i will never play (for) Jeremy Peace [sic],'
Darren Bent was another who tried to force a move using just 140 characters while still a Tottenham player. Bent was fined for the outburst, but ultimately he did get his move to the North East.
'Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go Stoke NO do I wanna go Sunderland YES so stop ******* around levy.'
With more and more players using social media, and as it's Twitter's 10th birthday, we thought we'd take a look at the very first tweets sent out by a number of high profile players.
Here's how you introduce yourself on Twitter. A day after his Arsenal side beat Tottenham 5-2 in the north London derby, Mikel Arteta joined the social network, posting this photo complete with Gunners legend and Sky Sports' own Thierry Henry. The text loosely translates as:
'Friends I'm on Twitter! Spectacular victory yesterday in the derby! Cazorlita went out and a visit from the largest Gunner!!'
Another first tweet with a derby theme came from Newcastle's Tim Krul. Thankfully for Krul, this tweet came before Sunderland's hoodoo over Newcastle, with the game finishing 1-1.
We salute our next group for being early users of Twitter, but it's clear a number of them hadn't quite got their head around the platform:
There are also a number of "I'm here" first tweets, including this gem from Wayne Routledge (we're not sure what was so funny).
Diego Costa made his first tweet celebratory in tone. This was posted after winning the Capital One Cup with Chelsea:
As already mentioned, the great thing about Twitter is we get a glimpse into players lives. This includes Aaron Lennon's music taste, Zlatan Ibrahimovic being Zlatan, and Harry Kane confusing everyone.
A number of people involved in football also use Twitter to talk about the actual game, and here we've included a chairman, manager and player:
Loosely translates as: Enjoyed the 1st training in the #Kuip . Great crowd and great atmosphere.
We'll end this look at footballers' first tweets by looking at two of the most popular on the platform.
Here's Mario Balotelli…and his dog.
And possibly the greatest tweet ever sent in the history of Twitter. What a way to mark your introduction from Wayne Rooney.
