How much football do top players play? Are footballers playing too often?
72 hours between matches, at least one day off per week, and three weeks of holiday after a season. A few of the measures FIFA wants to introduce to protect players from the congested calendar. It is – finally – a response to the many concerns raised by managers, players and player unions in recent years. Who believe that some football stakeholders, like FIFA, UEFA, and even clubs, are more concerned with commercial interests than with players’ welfare.
But how much football do top players really play? How has this changed over time? And what now?
More matches
FIFA may have suggested several measures to reduce players’ workload, but they have been one of the main causes of the calendar getting more congested over time. The governing body has expanded the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for 2026. Increasing the total number of matches by 62.5 percent to 104. With the semi-finalists each playing eight matches. Furthermore, they introduced a new Club World Cup format. With a 32-team, month long tournament, clubs like Chelsea (seven matches), Real Madrid (six) and Manchester City (four) played even more. In 2024/25, Real Madrid contested 68 official matches across seven different competitions. With the first team racking up 51 injuries, including 37 muscular ones.
Chelsea has only 34 ‘off-days’ between winning the Club World Cup and their first 2025/26 Premier League match. Which come off the back of an intense season, as the Blues played the most (competitive) matches amongst Premier League clubs in 2024/25. With 64 matches, they were ahead of Manchester City (61), Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (both 60). It is also 56 percent more than the 41 matches West Ham played – the least amongst the English topflight clubs.
The biggest difference in number of games is made by whether clubs qualify for European competitions. Like FIFA, UEFA has the tendency to organise more matches. Which they have done by, amongst others, expanding their club competitions from 32 to 36 teams and replacing the six-match group stage with an eight-match league phase. In turn, also increasing the amount of travel with an extra away game.
Changing formats, changing workload
These changing formats and new competitions have impacted the number of competitive games clubs have played across the years. Between 1992/93 and 1994/95, the Premier League consisted of 22 teams. Meaning clubs played 42 league matches, instead of the current 38.
During the inaugural season, the so-called Top Six played 52.3 competitive matches on average. In 2002/03, this was slightly less with 51.8. A decade later, in 2012/13, Chelsea played 69 matches across eight different competitions. With the Top Six recording 56 matches on average. In 2024/25, the six teams played almost 60 matches on average. The most across the last five seasons and driven by multiple clubs reaching European finals and qualifying for the Club World Cup.
The high number is despite the FA Cup (competition proper) no longer playing any replays due to UEFA competitions expanding. Previously there were no replays from the fifth round onwards. In 2024/25, it resulted in four Premier League sides – Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Nottingham Forest – avoiding a replay. A season prior, 10 topflight clubs faced a replay.
Friendlies and tours
It is not just the competitive matches that add up though. For years, clubs have gone on lucrative pre-season tours, often traveling to the other side of the world. While post-season tours are getting more popular now as well. Resulting in players raising their concern with player unions. Manchester United, for example, played two matches in Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of the 2024/25 season. Which reportedly generated around £8 million in revenue.
While Tottenham and Newcastle United faced each other in front of 78,419 fans in Australia mere days after the 2023/24 season.
National team
National callups make the workload for top players even higher. They often play for nations qualifying for and going far in tournaments. As the governing bodies have expanded these tournaments, the number of possible games has increased as well. While new formats – like the Nations League – have replaced friendlies, increasing the pressure on managers to play their best players.
Players playing a lot of football
FIFPro is one of many concerned with the congested calendar. For years, the player union has been monitoring players’ workload.1 Believing that the data underlines the need for changes and safety measures.
One of the players with the highest workload in recent seasons is Bruno Fernandes. According to FIFPro, the midfielder made 336 competitive appearances for Manchester United and Portugal between 2020/21 and 2024/25. Across those five seasons, he played over 30,000 minutes. With 89.4 minutes per appearance, it is almost 12 minutes more than the average of all players monitored. In December 2023, there was even a 14-day period in which Fernandes played 498 minutes across five matches.
England and Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice played 27,386 minutes during those five seasons (90.68 minutes per appearance). While Mohamed Salah racked up 26,758 official minutes across 309 appearances (86.6 minutes per appearance).
Travel load
Apart from match workload, players’ welfare is also impacted by recovery time, back-to-back matches and travel fatigue. The latter especially plays a role for non-Europeans who cover a lot of distance and time zones to play for their national teams.
Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, Heung-min Son travelled 431,000 kilometres and 34,000 minutes for Tottenham and South Korea.1 During 61.1 percent of his 90 trips, he crossed at least two time zones. Argentina and Chelsea player Enzo Fernández and Brazil and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson each travelled around 385,000 kilometres and 31,000 minutes for their teams during those five seasons.
Declan Rice travels far less, with the midfielder reportedly traveling 103,000 kilometres during that time. While Dutch international Virgil van Dijk racked up 146,000 kilometres to play football.
Young players playing more
Especially young quality players are playing more than their counterparts of earlier generations. Jude Bellingham, for example, had 251 apps by the age of 21. Stars like David Beckham (54), Frank Lampard (93), and Wayne Rooney (212) had played far less by that age.
While new Liverpool player Florian Wirtz played 11,501 minutes before turning 21. Almost 2.8 times as much as former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack (4,175) had played by that age.2
More stoppage time
Apart from more matches and travel load, there is also the amount of time players are on the pitch. The introduction of VAR and five, instead of three, substitutions has impacted playing time significantly.
In 2022, football lawmaker IFAB wanted to tackle time wasting, which resulted in longer amounts of stoppage time. It started at the 2022 World Cup, where referees had to add all time wasting and delays. Causing many games to last beyond 100 minutes. Including England versus Iran, where the referee added a total of 27 minutes of stoppage time. The tournament’s average stoppage time was over 11 minutes. An increase compared to the 2018 World Cup, where the average game time was 97 minutes and 12 seconds.
Stricter time keeping in the Premier League in 2023/24, also increased stoppage time. During the first eight matchdays the average stoppage time reached 11 minutes and 33 seconds. The season prior this had been eight minutes and 27 seconds. With the average ball-in-play time increasing by almost four minutes to 58 minutes and 48 second (58 percent of the time played).
However, there have also been rules implemented that reduce stoppage time and thus overall playing time. Since the 2024/25 season, for example, Premier League referees only start measuring stoppage time 30 seconds after a goal.
What now?
These new competitions, new formats, and new rules, all add up to players playing more, traveling more and having less rest. Resulting in injuries or early retirements. So, what can and should be done?
According to 70 medical and performance experts, there are 12 standards that could be implemented to protect players from excessive workload.3 Amongst their recommendations are an off-season break of at least four weeks – including two weeks with no contact with club or national team at all – and a one-week mid-season break. Pre-season should consist of a minimum four-week retraining period. Furthermore, players should have at least one day off per week and have at least two days between appearances. While there should also be extra focus on the burden of travel and on young players.
Recommendations by FIFPro to protect players’ welfare [source: FIFPro3]
| What | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Off-season break | Minimum of four weeks
Two weeks without any club or national team contact Retraining period of at least four weeks Clubs should provide players with optional monitoring |
| In season rest and recovery | Minimum of two days between appearances
A medical professional needs to clear players to play One day off per week |
| Mid-season break | One week break |
| Travel | Consider burden of travel when scheduling fixtures
Rest period between a long-haul flight and squad inclusion |
| Young players | Specific workload safeguards for under 18s |
FIFA seems willing to implement some of these suggestions. Yet, there are so many different independent parties with commercial interests that it will be difficult to reach consensus and implement them effectively. Even though player welfare should always be priority number one.