Being a professional footballer seems like hard work sometimes.
There are the obvious things that make it difficult like all the running around and trying to not totally embarrass yourself in front of millions of people every week.
But there are some things that go a little unnoticed, like the constant abuse that makes its way directly into a player’s pocket via the Twitter app on their phone.
For some reason, we appear to have agreed that just because footballers are paid a lot, it means they don’t care about anything and we should be free to abuse them however we please. After all, the thinking goes, Twitter isn’t “real life” so it doesn’t really count.
Manchester United winger Ashley Young learned this simple fact all over again as he tried to simply celebrate five years at Old Trafford on his Twitter account on Thursday.
Happy anniversary to me! 5 years at @ManUtd, what a club! pic.twitter.com/fILB553KyS
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) June 23, 2016
Sure, the phrasing was a bit odd, but you could tell he has enjoyed his time with the Red Devils since joining from Aston Villa in 2011.
Unfortunately for Young, not everyone shared his enthusiasm.
you and the bench must have built up quite the relationship
— Matt (@mattclubberlang) June 23, 2016
Unbelievable that you've lasted this long
— Grug5 (@hopefulstoic23) June 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/Craig2k17/status/745932505862250496
https://twitter.com/_fiiru/status/745926676610162688
But still, there were plenty of United fans ready to lend their support to one of this season’s most underrated performers.
. @youngy18 @ManUtd Well done Ash. Even when in a rough patch, you picked yourself up & proved you deserve to play at the highest level.
— Serge Adam 🇾🇪 (@SergeMUFC) June 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/RedDevilHQ/status/745913842924982273
https://twitter.com/wmy2666/status/745940782104739840
I wish you play many more years.you're a legend.
— Aminga Aming'a (@Aminga_Aminga) June 23, 2016
mate you don't get played enough, hope jose plays you a lot more next season.
— RedDevilsDanΔ👨💨🍁 (@RedDevilsDan) June 23, 2016
