The Premier League has officially begun, and it’s set to be a big one, with the return of fans. Nowhere is that more apparent than on social media and it’s not just fans taking to social media, but footballers too.
But with hundreds of players in the Premier League, who has the greatest influence on fans?
To celebrate the start of the 2021/2022 Premier League season, footballbreak.co.uk has released a brand-new study social media league table assessing 50 of the highest market value players according to transfermarkt.co.uk. For every footballer, footballbreak.co.uk recorded and combined follower statistics across Instagram and Twitter to determine the most influential followed football player on social media.
Some of the stand-out findings include:
- Known as one of the best players in the world, Egyptian player Mohamed Salah is crowned the most influential on social media with more than 57 million total followers.
- The second most followed player is Paul Pogba with over 55 million total followers, known for his penchant for dyeing his hair with his most recent post showing him with a combination of bright blue and bleached hair.
- The top 10 players have a staggering combined total of 227 million followers which is more than Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian combined.
- Despite being the top goal scorer of the 2020/2021 Premier League season, all eyes might be on Spurs’ top striker, but Harry Kane misses out on the top five5 with over 14 million overall followers.
Top 10 most followed footballers:
| Rank | Footballer | Premier League Team | Twitter followers | Instagram followers | Combined following |
| 1 | Mohammed Salah | Liverpool | 14,700,737 | 43,259,957 | 57,960,694 |
| 2 | Paul Pogba | Manchester United | 8,855,160 | 46,435,754 | 55,290,914 |
| 3 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | 2,847,845 | 14,631,003 | 17,478,848 |
| 4 | Marcus Rashford | Manchester United | 4,895,629 | 11,631,003 | 16,526,914 |
| 5 | Gabriel Jesus | Manchester City | 1,200,000 | 15,100,000 | 16,300,000 |
| 6 | Harry Kane | Tottenham | 3,396,175 | 11,465,045 | 14,861,220 |
| 7 | Roberto Firminho | Liverpool | 0 | 13,000,000 | 13,000,000 |
| 8 | Virgil Van Dijk | Liverpool | 2,524,465 | 10,402,891 | 12,927,356 |
| 9 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | 2,918,995 | 8,508,397 | 11,427,392 |
| 10 | N’Golo Kante | Chelsea | 0 | 11,311,184 | 11,311,183 |
Mohammed Salah is crowned the most followed footballer on social media with nearly 60 million followers across Twitter and Instagram. Given his status as the second highest goal scorer of the 2020/2021 Premier League season for Liverpool and the captain of Egypt’s national team, it is no surprise that Salah ranks first for the highest number of Instagram followers (43,259,957).
Crucial to Manchester United’s winning efforts in the previous Premier League season is central midfielder Paul Pogba who places second with an overall following of 55,290,914. Despite missing out on first place, Pogba has the most Instagram followers at 46,435,754.
Belgium player Kevin De Bruyne who is vice captain of the 2020/2021 Premier League winning team Manchester United, has amassed an impressive total following of 17,478,848.
In fourth place is Marcus Rashford who also plays for Manchester United and has also earned praise for his efforts to raise money to give meals to vulnerable people. He has a total following of 16,526,914 with 4,895,629 Twitter followers and 11,631,003 Instagram followers.
Finally in fifth place with a total overall following of 16.3 million is Brazilian player and forward for Manchester City Gabriel Jesus. Despite only having 1,200,000 Twitter followers, he makes up for it with an astonishing 15,100,000 Instagram followers.
