Barcelona and Real Madrid have two of top three most-used players in 2024

The physical toll on the world’s top players has been a frequent topic of conversation in recent months following a series of serious injuries. Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid and Barcelona have two of the top three most used players across the top 66 leagues in the world in 2024.

Fede Valverde has only missed one of Real Madrid’s last 71 games, and he places third in the list, compiled by CIES Football Observatory. He has just added 90 minutes at the Intercontinental Cup to his 5,573 total, which will take him into second place ahead of Fluminense’s Jhon Arias. In total, those minutes came across 66 games.

The records, which include international games, have Jules Kounde way out in front on 5,872 minutes, which will see him finish with the most minutes of any player in the calendar year. He has featured in 69 matches for Barcelona and France, and will likely bring up 70 this weekend in La Liga against Atletico Madrid.

The only other La Liga player to feature in the top 20 was Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger. The German centre-back has been the one constant at the back for Carlo Ancelotti, and his full match against Pachuca gives him a total of 5,293 minutes across 61 games. That puts him in 9th place.

Of the top 100 ranked players, the youngest players to feature were also ranked. Unsurprisingly, England star Jude Bellingham makes the top three as well. The 21-year-old suffered the occasional injury in 2024, but has put up 4,669 minutes too.

That workload has taken its toll on both Barcelona and Real Madrid in recent years. Cruciate ligament injuries have seen Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, Gavi and Eder MIilitao break down, twice in the Brazilian’s case. The Catalan side have also seen major injuries to Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, as well as significant issues for Pedri beforehand.