It’s all over: the 2018 World Cup was one of the most entertaining of them all, with thrills and spills never far away in most games.

Big favourites fell at the hands of smaller nations, fans from all over the world brought colour and enthusiasm, and VAR added a new dimension to the action on the pitch.

It was a World Cup for the modern age, as most are. Bringing together digital and social media with podcasts or live video like the FA’s Lions’ Den, this was the most connected competition in memory. It was also one where there seemed to be a constant stream of information there to dip in and out of at will – after the live games there was written content, on-demand videos and tonnes of podcasts offering everything from serious analysis to cultural tidbits and general footballing chit-chat.

It wouldn’t have been modern football without input from the biggest clubs, though.

France v Croatia might have been the final, but for those fans who also follow the biggest club teams it was about more than just national pride between two countries, it was also about cheering on club heroes to ultimate victory.

Throughout the tournament, the top sides cheered on their own players. Graphics, gifs and videos were made up by social media teams in order to hype up their own players, and give a little extra edge to the tournament in the minds of their fans.

The World Cup final, then, was not just an international occasion – on Twitter it was a club occasion, too.

???????? Congratulations to @samumtiti and @Dembouz on winning the #WorldCup! ????
???????? Well done to @ivanrakitic on a great tournament. ????
???????? #BarçaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Fwn3lgjOGk

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 15, 2018

Captain Hugo lifts the #WorldCup???? ????????#WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/VhSpis25IU

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 15, 2018

Barcelona and Tottenham had plenty to ‘celebrate’ with their own players as the Spanish champions feted Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele who won the competition with France.

Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is also the France captain, and so it was he who lifted the trophy for Les Bleus, giving the north London club the perfect image for their social media accounts.

The Manchester clubs weren’t to be outdone, either: a whole raft of tweets about those natural social media favourites Paul Pogba and Benjamin Mendy were never going to be far away after a World Cup final win, and so it proved. Both teams know they have social media gold dust in those two players, and they weren’t afraid to use it.

.@paulpogba – WORLD CUP CHAMPION ????.
Congratulations! #worldcup #heretocreate pic.twitter.com/TYywiJ0Jg1

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 15, 2018

???????? @benmendy23 leads the chant! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/rHVLM6ySyf

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 15, 2018

Sliding in the Moscow rain at the Luzhniki Stadium after winning a major trophy. Sounds familiar… #MUFC pic.twitter.com/M8yRkDCZT0

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 16, 2018

It was France’s day, but that doesn’t mean Croatia shouldn’t celebrate their achievement of getting to a final – further than any Croatian team has in history, and certainly much further than anyone expected them to go.

Indeed, Luka Modric of Real Madrid was the star of the show as far as they were concerned – and as far as FIFA were concerned, too. The Croatian came away with the Golden Ball for best player at the tournament. And after selling their star player in Cristiano Ronaldo to Italian giants Juventus, the Champions League winners certainly weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to play up Modric’s contribution.

⚽???? WORLD CUP GOLDEN BALL
???????? @lukamodric10 pic.twitter.com/zjXQSpV5FI

— Real Madrid C.F. ???????????????? (@realmadriden) July 16, 2018

The club game will return in just a few weeks, and until then there’ll be plenty of transfer drama and pre-season action to whet the appetite after a break from the competitive stuff. But after putting so much effort into a competition in which their teams weren’t even playing, the world’s biggest clubs are likely to be gearing up for a big season behind the scenes too.