By Martin Graham
Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan covered more than 100,000 miles during the last campaign, while Luka Modric, now 40, recorded more appearances than any other player worldwide, according to a new report released by Fifpro.
The global players’ union said participants at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup were denied adequate off-season or pre-season time, describing the current schedule as “a perfect storm of how not to treat a human.”
Launching its fifth annual review of player welfare, Fifpro highlighted the strain of long-distance travel, congested calendars, rising temperatures, and increased demands on young athletes.
Alex Phillips, Fifpro’s secretary general, pointed out that both of the past two Ballon d’Or winners – Rodri and Ousmane Dembele – suffered long-term injuries. “How long will this keep happening until even the club owners realize it’s bad for business?” he said.
Too many matches
Modric, who played for Real Madrid and Croatia last season before joining AC Milan, featured in 76 fixtures, including friendlies. Ten players worldwide reached 69 appearances or more, all far exceeding the recommended 55-match ceiling.
Four of the 10 most-used players were from Paris St-Germain, while Real Madrid’s Modric and Federico Valverde topped the list. Valverde also had the highest number of back-to-back outings, with 58 games taking place within five days of each other.
Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae endured 20 matches across 73 days, a workload Fifpro said raised the risk of injury. He later sustained an Achilles problem.
Tottenham teenager Archie Gray was named in 80 squads during 2024-25, making 63 appearances for club and country. Real Madrid’s Arda Guler also featured heavily, with Fifpro noting that younger players are often most exposed to such demands.
Exhausting travel schedules
Ryan accumulated over 217 hours of travel, equivalent to nine full days, after moving between Roma, Lens, and international duty with Australia. He has since joined Levante in Spain.
New Zealand’s Marko Stamenic and Ben Waine followed closely behind. Waine, now with Port Vale, logged 97,000 miles last term.
Manchester United’s Andre Onana made 33 international trips for Cameroon, crossing 69 time zones and covering more than 127,000 km for club and country combined.
Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo was cited as another case, with 360 minutes of football across three countries in just 14 days, combined with intercontinental travel.
Insufficient rest between seasons
Top players in Europe had only about three weeks off between campaigns, far less than athletes in other sports such as the NBA, MLB, or AFL, where breaks are at least 14 weeks.
Fifpro recommends 28 days of rest and the same amount of pre-season training. No Club World Cup participant met those standards.
Chelsea, the eventual winners, had 20 days off and 13 days of preparation, while Paris St-Germain managed 22 days of rest but only a week of pre-season work. Some clubs returned in less than two weeks.
High-performance expert Darren Burgess, who has worked at Arsenal and Liverpool, said football lags behind other sports when it comes to prioritizing recovery and well-being.
Young players under heavy strain
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has already played 130 matches for club and country before turning 18. By comparison, Andres Iniesta had featured just 40 times at that age, while Ansu Fati (45), Pedri (49), and Gavi (60) all had significantly fewer appearances.
In recent years, the number of teenagers surpassing 2,000 minutes before their 18th birthday has risen sharply. Yamal alone reached 8,158 minutes before coming of age, a record figure.
Burgess called the trend “alarming,” pointing out that players under 25 are still developing physically and are more vulnerable to injuries if overworked.
Calls for reform
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood said two consecutive seasons of 60 games might be manageable, but over a longer period “problems arise.” He added that the possibility of a players’ strike remains, though it would be a last resort.
Fifpro has been pressing for a lighter calendar for years and believes attitudes are slowly shifting. Director Alexander Bielefeld said that while there is still resistance to reducing competitions, the conversation has moved on from when they first raised the issue.
Forest coach Ange Postecoglou also criticized the lack of breaks, warning that oversaturation of fixtures not only risks players’ health but also diminishes enjoyment for fans. “We used to look forward to games,” he said, “but now people just head down to the beach instead.”
