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Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney becomes first UK athlete to hit 10m Twitter followers

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By John Glenday, Reporter

October 6, 2014 | 2 min read

Wayne Rooney has been named Britain’s most followed athlete on Twitter after the Manchester United striker surpassed the bragging rights milestone of 10m followers on Twitter.

The eight digit stat was enough to propel Rooney to sixth place in a newly compiled popularity chart for the world’s most followed athletes drawn up by the micro blogging platform.

Rooney still has a way to go to approach chart topper Cristiano Ronaldo who has amassed 30.3m followers, way ahead of his next nearest rival, Ricardo Kaka, who must make do with a relatively paltry 21m.

Rounding out the top five were LeBron James (15.2m), Neymar Junior (14.6m) and Ronaldinho Gaucho (10.8m).

Twitter’s statisticians have calculated that Rooney’s off pitch performance is sufficient to max out Old Trafford 172 times, with 74 per cent of his following originating from outwith the UK.

London is home to the single biggest cohort of Rooney’s fan base whilst, intriguingly, 29 per cent of the footballers followers also follow pop star @katyperry – who also happens to be the most followed individual on Twitter overall with 58m.

Top 10 most-followed athletes on Twitter:

1. @Cristiano (Cristiano Ronaldo) 30.3m

2. @Kaka (Ricardo Kaka) 21m

3. @KingJames (LeBron James) 15.2m

4. @NeymarJR (Neymar Junior) 14.6m

5. @10Ronaldinho (Ronaldinho Gaúcho) 10.8m

6. @WayneRooney (Wayne Rooney) 10m

7. @andresiniesta8 (Andrés Iniesta) 9.66m

8. @3gerardpique (Gerard Pique) 9.53m

9. @KDTrey5 (Kevin Durant) 8.25m

10. @XabiAlonso (Xabi Alonso) 8.23m

Top 10 most-followed UK individuals on Twitter:

1. @Harry_Styles (Harry Styles) - 22.1m

2. @OfficialAdele (Adele) - 21m

3. @Real_Liam_Payne (Liam Payne) - 18m

4. @Louis_Tomlinson (Louis Tomlinson) - 17.5m

5. @EmWatson (Emma Watson) - 14.8m

6. @zaynmalik (Zayn Malik) - 13.3m

7. @edsheeran (Ed Sheeran) - 10.6m

8. @SimonCowell (Simon Cowell) - 10.5m

9. @WayneRooney (Wayne Rooney) - 10m

10. @rustyrockets (Russell Brand) - 8.3m

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