Football
Ollie Watkins Revealed as the Most Loved Premier League Player on Social Media
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Using emotional reactions and post engagements from Facebook 
, we have been able to determine the most loved player in the Premier League across social media.
Data highlights:
- Ollie Watkins is the most loved PL player with 85% of the emoji reactions on FB articles about Watkins being given the ”love’ treatment.
- Luis Diaz gets the most negative reactions online of any PL player, with 17% of emoji reactions across his FB articles being
‘angry’.
Being a football fan is an inherently tribal endeavour, and long-standing rivalries often mean the difference between liking a player or despising them.
However, some players – putting rivalries aside – are able to break the mould, whether it be for the right or the wrong reasons.
SportsCasting have analysed every Premier League footballer’s popularity online by using social media tool Buzzsumo to examine engagement and emotional reactions to articles.
Focusing on the percentage of ‘love’ and ‘angry’ reactions over the past year, we have narrowed down the results to a Top 20 list of the most loved and hated players based on these reactions.
Most Loved Premier League Player on Social Media in 2024
| Ollie Watkins | 85% |
| Josko Gvardiol | 80% |
| Dominik Szoboszlai | 78% |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 77% |
| Christopher Nkunku | 77% |
| Jeremy Doku | 76% |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 75% |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 69% |
| Cole Palmer | 64% |
| Lucas Paqueta | 64% |
At the other end of the spectrum, Aston Villa marksman Ollie Watkins takes the crown for the most loved Premier League player on social media.
Not long after clocking in with 32 goal involvements last year to help Villa qualify for the Champions League, Watkins cemented himself in English folklore after last-gasp heroics in the Euro semi-final against the Netherlands.
This will have undoubtedly helped his cause, and we are certain his title-ending blow at Arsenal will have earned him a few extra hits.
Most Hated Premier League Player on Social Media in 2024
| Luis Diaz | 17% |
| Alexis Mac Allister | 14% |
| Jeremy Doku | 9% |
| Declan Rice | 7% |
| Anthony Gordon | 7% |
| Moises Caicedo | 5% |
| Alexander Isak | 5% |
| James Maddison | 5% |
| Marcus Rashford | 5% |
| Cody Gakpo | 4% |
Finishing with players who have received the most ‘angry’ reactions, it is interesting to note that Liverpool occupy the top two.
It is a surprise to see Alexis Mac Allister listed at number two given the Argentine is a quiet presence on and off the pitch. His angry reacts percentage of 14% likely stems from rival fans poking fun at him after netting several important winners for the Reds last season.
However, it is his Liverpool teammate Luis Diaz who snatches the award for the most hated player on social media.
Although no doubt an exceptional winger, the Colombian is no stranger to theatrics in the tackle and somewhat petulant behaviour towards referees; the perfect storm for keyboard warriors to take aim.
Elsewhere, Jeremy Doku (9%) Declan Rice (7%) are surprising inclusions in the top four.
Methodology
SportsCasting have analysed every Premier League footballer’s popularity online by using social media tool Buzzsumo – to examine engagement and emotional reactions to articles.
Using Buzzsumo, we analysed over 116,000 UK news articles posted on Facebook in 2024, relating to Premier League footballers & quantified the % of ‘love’ or ‘hate’ reactions.
Focusing on the percentage of ‘love’ and ‘angry’ reactions over the past year, we have narrowed down the results to a Top 10 list of the most loved and Top 10 most hated players in the Premier League based on these reactions.