A survey carried out every year in Italy by Found! Story Engagement Factory per i Macchianera Internet Awards has revealed the top 10 Italian athletes most followed on social networks. Against all expectations, it is not a footballer who comes out on top!
If it was still necessary to prove to what extent MotoGP is loved and followed in Italy but also all over the world, the survey carried out by Found! Story Engagement Factory per i Macchianera Internet Awards and relayed by La Gazzetta dello Sport did it. In fact, the company revealed the top 10 Italian athletes most followed on social networks by adding the number of subscribers to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and footballers are thus ahead of a certain amount. Valentino Rossi.
With a total of 24 million subscribers, Rossi therefore tops this ranking, and that is not so surprising. In more than twenty years he has achieved a large number of podiums, victories and world titles, in all categories, which has caused the interest of a large number of Italians in MotoGP, but not only, since the survey reveals that its popularity affects the whole world. His longevity in this sport is the second reason because it has allowed him to reach different generations. His followers, whether born in the 2000s or the 1960s, are of all ages. Finally, his temperament, his celebrations and his handling of communication made him a sportsman different from the others.
The “Doctor” precedes the footballers Mario Balotelli et Gianluigi Buffon which total 21,2 million subscribers for the first, and 14,6 million for the second. Apart from this podium, the other athletes in this top 10 are very far from having the same popularity. We thus find the swimmer Federica Pellegrini (1,7 million followers), the basketball player Danilo Gallinari (1,5 million), the cyclist Vincenzo Nibali (1,3 million), the volleyball player Ivan Zaitsev (913), tennis players Flavia Pennetta (648 000) and Fabio Fognini (529) as well as the golf player Francesco Molinari (207 000)
