From Matt Doherty to Ryan Babel: Footballers who live to regret old tweets

Footballers and Twitter - not always a great combination.

The app can be a great platform for the world's biggest stars - but it can also cause problems with some finding that old posts can come back to haunt them.

Most players have their own social media accounts. Some get their management teams to run them while others take control themselves - but occasionally with unfortunate consequences.

Arsenal target Runar Alex Runarsson is the latest player to have some of his old tweets dug up. The goalkeeper was far from complimentary about Arsene Wenger in 2011, calling the then-Gunners boss a 'French f***,' 'stupid' and 'the dumbest man on this planet' in three separate posts.

It's fair to say the shot-stopper could have some explaining to do if he arrives in north London. But Runarsson is not the only star who has lived to regret historic tweets.

Sportsmail takes a look at some of the memorable tweets players were left wishing they'd never sent.

Matt Doherty

New Tottenham signing Matt Doherty was forced to delete two old tweets which revealed him to be an Arsenal supporter.

The defender completed a £15million move from Wolves at the end of August and quickly looked to get fans onside by taking part in a video where he sheepishly took down the posts.

One read: 'Yes I am a HUGE Arsenal fan' while another said: 'I love Arsenal forever and ever.'

Doherty is not the only player to have previously shown his love for Spurs' rival club. In a since deleted post, his fellow right-back Serge Aurier tweeted a picture of him donning an Arsenal home shirt.

Ryan Babel

Players often get frustrated at referees. Sometimes they vent their anger on the pitch, occasionally in a post-match interview.

But Ryan Babel went a step further when Howard Webb angered him in Liverpool's defeat by Manchester United in 2011.

The Dutchman posted a picture of Webb in a United shirt and wrote: 'And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke.'

But it was no laughing matter for the FA who fined the forward £10,000.

Kyle Walker

Manchester City defeated Tottenham 3-2 in 2012, but Spurs' right back Kyle Walker had a message for the opposition fans.

He wrote: 'All u Man City fans u can talk now we will just see at the end of the season.. Was u all there when City were no where to be seen [sic] #gloryfans'.

Five years later Walker completed a £50million move to the Etihad.

Joey Barton

You'd have been forgiven for being a little bit confused when Joey Barton signed for Burnley in 2015.

The midfielder had spent much of 2014 aiming digs at the Lancashire town while still a player at QPR.

The club had arranged an open top bus parade after they had secured promotion to the Premier League but Barton poked fun at some of the empty streets that were shown on TV.

He then made a further jibe and tweeted a picture of a motorway filled with tractors, writing: 'Breaking news: Apologies to Burnley. Just heard all fans are en route as we speak to see the open top bus.'

When one Burnley fan challenged the midfielder about his own side's record, Barton replied: 'We might be c***. We may well be really over rated but at least we don't have to live in Burnley!'

Anders Lindegaard

Sometimes footballers coming to the Premier League from another country struggle to get to grips with British humour.

West Brom's attempt at a joke at Marouane Fellaini's expense during their clash with Manchester United did not go down with the Red Devils' sub goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard.

The Baggies tweeted: 'Fellaini has now taken his tracksuit off, fortunately he has a Man Utd strip on underneath.'

As if by magic, the Belgian ended up scoring for United but that didn't stop Lindegaard sharing his anger after the game. He wrote: 'Complete lack of knowledge, class and respect on Twitter from @WBAFOfficiall on Fellaini!'

But the 'keeper was perhaps wishing he hadn't got involved when he signed for the Baggies a year later. All seemed to have been forgiven when he tweeted: 'Very happy to have signed with WBA. Can't wait to get started in my new club.'

Dietmar Hamann

Pre-season predictions are always dangerous, especially when there's a new manager involved.

While no one could have expected Leicester to win the Premier League in 2015-2016 season, Dietmar Hamann's expectations for the Foxes and Claudio Ranieri were not high.

After the Italian's appointment, the former Liverpool man wrote: 'Can't believe Leicester appointed Ranieri... Great club, great fanbase but I'm afraid MK rather than Old Trafford season after next.'

Jan Vertonghen

It's not entirely clear what Jan Vertonghen was referring to when he posted this tweet in 2012, but it's fair to say it's been used on a regular basis by Tottenham fans - as well as supporters of other clubs.

The defender tweeted: 'A little update: We are s***!'

The Belgian didn't feel the need to remove the post and it's still there for fans to retweet or quote as they wish.

Christian Benteke

Getting your agent to manage your account for you saves unnecessary stress and eliminates any possibility of errors - right?

When Christian Benteke signed for Crystal Palace in 2016, fans were slightly confused to see his Twitter bio read that he was now a player for Burnley.

The striker had to send this update later: 'Oops my bad lol. Yes I signed for cpfc and not burnley. Sorry for the little mistake the person that manages my Twitter got a little confused.'