Christmas, a time for giving and sharing, excessive eating, the latest Star Wars film and spending quality time with one's nearest and dearest.

In the footballing world, social media Christmas presents top football players an opportunity to show their creative side and in turn send seasons greetings to their legions of followers.

Sergio Ramos

With his media profile at an all time high following his Amazon docu. series, the Real Madrid captain sports a classic look with just a hint of an Andaluz Clark Gable wishing his 16.7M followers seasons greetings.

Kylian Mbappé  

The PSG striker opts for the classic Santa Claus outfit in his festive social media post with a few Father Christmas emojis and a mention to his Ligue 1 side. Simple and effective from the French striker.

Paulo Dybala

The Argentine opts for an Instagram video in which he showcases his adept ball control over a harsh electro sound bed and glitchy neon-esque images with a simple "Feliz Navidad" message at the end for his 35 million followers! 

Chris Smalling

Staying with Serie A, AS Roma's new recruit Smalling is clearly delighted to be in the Eternal City over the festive period and not preparing for a rainy Boxing Day away trip to Newcastle.

Iñaki Williams

The Athletic Club striker certainly wins our vote for the "most effort put into a Christmas social media post" award as the player dresses up as the traditional Basque Olentzero (a local version of Father Christmas for the region). Williams seals the post with a Christmas greeting in Euskera. 

Rafa Benitez    

The former Real Madrid, Valencia, Liverpool and Newcastle boss goes for a classic, beside the Christmas tree with the dogs approach. A simple message from the coach to accompany the post and job done for Rafa and his social media team.