Whether we like it or not, social media is impacting the world of football on a more regular basis – proven by the Advertising Standards Authority’s (AAS) decision to ban the Nike “#makeitcount” campaign on Twitter after Rooney’s recent “tweetvertisements”.

More and more people are concerned that footballers and celebs alike are cashing in on Twitter. But so what? At the end of the day if we could earn £20,000+ from sending a message with less than 140 characters we would.

There’s been a lot of talk this tournament about Rooney and his unavailability for the first two games. Despite his slightly sub-par performance, Tuesday night saw his return with him justifying his selection and scoring the only goal of the game as England topped group D.

So what with Wazza and his social media activities? Here’s 5 facts about Wayne’s social media influence to impress your mates down the pub…

#1. Rooney has the second largest following on Twitter at Euro 2012 & the third largest in the world behind Kaka & Ronaldo.

#2. At Euro 2012 Wazza has increased his social reach by 311,000 (Twitter followers or Facebook likes) at an average rate of around 1,077 per hour.

#3. Rooney’s current social media following would fill Old Trafford for every Premier LEague game until midway through 2021/22 season.

#4. If every one of Wazza’ Twitter followers tweeted him at the same time, it would take him around 127 days to read them – let alone reply! As for Facebook? Try 264.

Claims United have 659 million+ ‘fans’ around the world is nonsense. However, claiming we have that ‘reach’ to the world based on Wazza and co. with all their affiliates and continued use of social media/general advertising is a different point altogether.

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TheEuros2012.com was created by Chris Jones & his team at VIVA Aspire. The site houses every Twitter (official) & Facebook page (official & tributes) for all players at this year’s European championships. Check them out for more social media stats at this years Euro 2012 championships!