Could Wayne Rooney swing the US election?

Wayne Rooney has given his backing to Barack Obama (Getty Images)

Having spent his schooldays striving to become one of the world's top athletes rather than reading Of Mice and Men, Wayne Rooney is often unfairly maligned as being, well, dim.

So when he tweeted: "If I had to vote would vote Obama", people were both surprised and – the odd angry American aside – heartened that Wazza was engaging. It's understandable that Rooney is taking an interest. His club is registered on the New York Stock Exchange and opened up a US office this week.

United also claims to have 71m fans in the Americas. So, as long as, say, 100,000 of them live in Ohio and make their democratic choices based on the opinions of foreign athletes, it's fair to say his is an endorsement that could decide the future of US democracy as we know it.