For supporters there's no such thing as too much football, but for athletes playing the beautiful game, it's become a major talking point in recent years. As more stars have picked up long-term injuries, the general discussion has been about whether they're being asked to play too often over the course of a season. Premier League players have spoken out in the past about it, with top teams expected to compete in three domestic competitions, a European tournament and now the Club World Cup.
This season marked the first edition of the new format of the Club World Cup, with some of the biggest teams on the planet competing in the United States and it just added to the already controversial workload for players. Now, a study from Transfermarkt has revealed which footballers from Europe's top five leagues played the most minutes over the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign, across all competitions. Below are the 20 stars who featured the most.
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20-11
Including Lamine Yamal & Virgil van Dijk
From 20-11, there are a number of high-profile stars, such as Chelsea's Marc Cucurella, who comes in at 20. The full-back got off to a rocky start at Stamford Bridge, but has since become a crucial figure for the Blues and the Spanish national team. Just above him are Vitinha and Jan Oblak in 18th and 19th respectively. The former has helped turn PSG into one of the best teams in the world and played 5,347 minutes for the club and Portugal throughout the season.
Just one minute separates Jules Kounde (5,384) and Gregor Kobel (5,385) in 17th and 16th. Despite spending the majority of the campaign as a 17-year-old, Lamine Yamal was one of the most played footballers last season too, sitting 15th. Two Arsenal players rank above him, in David Raya and William Saliba, who sit 14th and 13th respectively.
This section is rounded off with another pair of Premier League stars. Virgil van Dijk led Liverpool to glory in England last season and the best defender in the world is 12th, having played 5,446 minutes for club and country, while Manchester City man Josko Gvardiol ranks just ahead of him, having played 15 more minutes in total.
10-1
No one played more minutes in 2024/25 than Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde
There's a sizeable jump as we enter the top 10, with Kylian Mbappe playing over an hour more than Gvardiol. The Frenchman had a strong debut campaign in Spain, but despite the fact he played 5,527 minutes in total across the season, he finished it trophyless. Above him is Jonathan Tah, who spent the majority of the campaign with Bayer Leverkusen before moving to Bayern Munich, and two of his Real Madrid teammates in Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham.
The midfielders played 5,609 and 5,707 minutes respectively for Los Blancos in what was ultimately a disappointing campaign for the club. Moving into the top five, there's Tijjani Reijnders. The midfielder joined Manchester City at the tail end of the season and represented Pep Guardiola's side in the Club World Cup, but was an AC Milan player for the majority of the year. Achraf Hakimi played 5,844 minutes in total throughout the campaign, while Mike Maignan ranked third, with 5,926 minutes in between the sticks for AC Milan and France.
Only one footballer played more minutes than Bruno Fernandes. The attacking midfielder was a rare bright spark for Manchester United in what was an abysmal year for the club and is one of the best players in the Premier League. He also helped Portugal lift their second ever Nations League trophy. In first place, though, and well ahead of anyone else is Federico Valverde. The midfielder played an astonishing 6,480 minutes throughout the 2024/25 season for club and country, nearly 500 more minutes than anyone else.
Most Minutes Played in 2024/25
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 16/07/2025