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Keeping track of football transfers in the age of social media
The minute-to-minute updates on social media have taken the element of surprise out of football transfers
“The player has agreed to join Manchester United. Personal terms are not said to be a problem.”
“The player is now at the airport; the club have booked his travel and medical.”
“The player has landed in Manchester.”
“The player is in the training ground building.”
“The player is having his medical now.”
“The player has signed his contract! Here we go!”
This is what the Instagram or X feed of an average football fan looks like during the transfer season.
There’s no debating the fact that social media has taken the interaction between fans and football—and other sports—to the next level. But it’s hard not to mention that when the transfer season comes along, the constant updates on social media can be overwhelming.
The summer transfer window is in full flow now. Hundreds of deals, negotiations go back and forth between some of the biggest clubs in world football. In the 2023 summer transfer window, clubs in England’s Premier League—the biggest football league in the world—spent more than $3 billion (around ₹25,000 crore), which was a new record. Earlier this year, Fifa revealed that football clubs worldwide spent a record $9.63 billion on international transfers in 2023.
Like the clubs and players, transfers are a big deal for fans. Fake handles on X abound as fans scour the internet for news. @SlowSportsNews—a parody account on Sky Sports News, complete with a logo using Sky Sports colours—has close to 153,000 followers on X. Earlier this month, a post on the handle saying that the Football Association had confirmed a two-year extension for Gareth Southgate to stay on as England manager in charge for the next World Cup went viral (it had close to 7.3 million views).️ In reality, the link in the post was to a Sky Sports story from November 2021, which said that Southgate had signed an extension until Euro 2024, which finished recently. Multiple fans fell for the parody post—as the comments showed.
Funnily enough, Southgate left the England job just days ago after England’s loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Life as a football fan on social media isn’t easy.
In his 2016 book, The Deal: Inside The World Of A Super-Agent, author Jon Smith writes how news about transfers can snowball into wrong information easily. “Misunderstandings happen more than you think, especially with the onset of 24-hour news and social media. Everyone is a journalist these days, yet fewer individuals actually fact-check with people in the know.”
I remember the summer of 2012. Speculation was rife that Arsenal striker and captain Robin van Persie was close to joining rivals Manchester United. There were multiple news reports and a steady flow of rumours but no minute-to-minute updates. I only saw the confirmation of the transfer on reliable names such as ESPN and the BBC. That element of surprise does not exist any longer.
Of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preferences. Some like the constant adrenaline and buzz of transfer updates by the second. There are others who prefer to wait for an official statement from their favourite football club confirming a player’s transfer. As for me: wake me up when the transfer window closes towards the beginning of September.
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First Published:21 Jul 2024, 08:00 AM IST
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