From LeBron James and Andy Murray questioning US President Donald Trump, to Cristiano Ronaldo winning his fifth Ballon d’Or and Peter Crouch comparing himself to a giraffe, sportsmen and women have been quick to share their thoughts on social media once again throughout 2017.
Here, we take a look back at some of the best posts from the year.
In one of the most touching moments of 2017, Jermain Defoe paid an emotional tribute to his ‘best friend’ Bradley Lowery after the youngster lost his battle to illness:
Did anyone have Peter Crouch down as a comedian? This post certainly got people laughing, as he enjoyed some time with his ‘family’:
Andy Murray – jokingly – followed in Donald Trump’s footsteps by refusing to accept an award because it meant he had to do an interview:
Pakistan thrashed India by 180 runs to win the Champions Trophy. Ex-captain Shahid Afridi, who has suffered a few losses to India at major events, was relieved.
Another sportsman takes on US President Donald Trump with LeBron James questioning his decision to not allow the Golden State Warriors to visit the Whitehouse. This is the most retweeted sports posts of 2017:
When little met large! Gymnast and Olympic champion Simone Biles poses for a photo with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal:
The iPhone X’s new face recognition software left John Cena with more questions than answers ahead of its release:
How did Conor McGregor go about announcing he’d be boxing against Floyd Mayweather? With a not-so-subtle dig at his age:
Lieke Martens eventually lifted the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year award. That was largely down to helping Holland triumph at the UEFA Women’s Championship:
Jack Wilshere has had his fair share of injuries over the last few seasons, but even he found the funny side of it after an ice skating trip with his family:
After his goal confirmed Chelsea’s Premier League success, Michy Batshuayi – another excellent character on social media – made sure he let his fans know he had it all under control:
Kevin Pietersen tore into England management after Ben Duckett became the third player to be involved in an alcohol-related incident and was subsequently dropped.
He became a huge Twitter sensation in 2017 and Benjamin Mendy didn’t waste time ripping into Manchester City teammate Kyle Walker on social media:
This now infamous post from Gerard Pique seemed to suggest that Neymar would not be joining PSG:
A short and sweet message from Roger Federer after he lifted his 19th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon:
Another amazing year for Cristiano Ronaldo saw him win a record-equalling fifth Ballon d’Or in a special ceremony in Paris:
On a special night at the Camp Nou, Barcelona won 6-1 to knock PSG out of the Champions League – and the whole of Twitter couldn’t believe it:
In one of the biggest fights of the year, Anthony Joshua proved to the world just how good he was by defeating Vladimir Klitschko:
It may have only been a bronze medal, but Usain Bolt’s final 100m race at the 2017 World Championships was ‘extra special’:
A special moment for Garbine Muguruza as she beats Venus Williams to become the Wimbledon champion:
After winning his 10th French Open, Rafael Nadal posted this on Instagram:
Francesco Totti says thank you after announcing his retirement from football:
Tom Brady posted this after he became the first NFL player to win five Super Bowls with one side, when the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons:
After the ban on Chennai IPL franchise was lifted, India keeper MS Dhoni posted this photo wearing the famous yellow jersey with ‘Thala’ (meaning ‘leader’ in Tamil) printed on the back, hinting at a possible return to the city once the new season kicks off.
Australia captain Steve Smith revealed his delight after regaining the Ashes from England in mid-December: