Fernandes 2nd, Mbappé 10th - Which players played the most football last season?

Club World Cup included 

The welfare of footballers and the impact the modern game is taking on their body has never been more pertinent than it is now. So soon after FIFA heralded the success of their revamped Club World Cup, the leading players' global union Fifpro were quick to criticise the competition, saying that the global federation "chose to continue increasing its revenue at the expense of the players' bodies and health" in an interview with the BBC . 

Indeed, alongside the sweltering heat of North America in the height of summer, finalists Paris Saint-Germain and champions Chelsea each had to play no less than seven games throughout the competition. In Chelsea's case, that meant the Stamford Bridge squad took part in no less than 65 games across five tournaments. And that's without even taking into account the numerous games most top-level players play for their national teams throughout the season. So which players ended up racking up the most minutes for club and country last season? When we include the Club World Cup as part of the complete 2024/25 season, we get some interesting numbers. 

Which players played the most minutes last season?

Somewhat surprisingly, the player in Europe's top five leagues that has played the most minutes for club and country this season doesn't actually play for PSG or Chelsea. None other than Uruguay and Real Madrid midfielder, Federico Valverde, stands tall among all other players in Europe with almost 500 more minutes than any other player. In second place is another surprise in Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, whose side didn't even take part in the Club World Cup. However, fans of the Old Trafford club would have undoubtedly expected to see their ever-present No.8 high up the list. 

Interestingly, eight of the top 10 players all play for clubs that did take part in this summer's Club World Cup. Real Madrid's midfield trio of Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni are joined by Kylian Mbappé to make up four players from the Spanish giants, alongside Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders and Josko Gvardiol, as well as Bayern Munich duo Joshua Kimmich and Jonathan Tah. AC Milan shot-stopper Mike Maignan then rounds up the top 10 by coming in third. 

In what certainly speaks to the strength in depth that the new European champions clearly have to hand, PSG only have two players in the top 20. Full-back Achraf Hakimi comes in fourth, ahead of midfielder Vitinha in eighteenth. In stark contrast, Real Madrid have no less than four players in the top 20, which suggests that former manager Carlo Ancelotti had little time for squad rotation or relying on his bench players. 

Which players made the most appearances last season?

When we then take a look at which players made the most appearances for their club and national teams last season, it throws up a slightly different list of players. While Valverde once again sits top of the list with 76 appearances for club and country, he's joined by a number of players that didn't feature in the top 20 for minutes played. Whether that be PSG's many attacking and midfield options in Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doue or Fabián Ruiz, the French side clearly had a number of excellent options on the bench last season. While in fifth place is none other than Real Madrid and Croatia legend Luka Modrić , who departs the club for Milan after featuring 73 times last season. Interestingly enough, Modrić didn't feature at all in the list of most minutes, pointing to the fact that he was mostly used as a late substitute in games.