The defender of the Blues, Jules Koundé, is the footballer who has played the most matches in the world in 2024. In France, a Lille player dominates a top 10 where PSG is well represented.
Stainless, “Iron Man”, call him what you want: Jules Koundé is the professional footballer having played the most matches and minutes in 2024, according to a report from the CIES Football Observatory (International Center for the Study of Sport ). The study, which only focuses on outfield players and therefore excludes goalkeepers, examined 66 leagues, including Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.
Combining FC Barcelona and the French team, Koundé (26 years old) played 69 matches and 5,872 minutes. He is well ahead of his runner-up, Colombian winger Jhon Arias from Fluminense in Brazil (67 matches, 5,599 minutes). The Swiss army knife of Real Madrid, Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde (66 matches, 5,573 minutes), completes the podium.
Saliba second most requested Frenchman
In the number of matches played, Lille’s Canadian striker Jonathan David ranks 8e with 63 meetings. It’s simple: he hasn’t missed a single LOSC or national team match this year. In terms of minutes, another Frenchman, William Saliba, snatches the top 10 (5,264 minutes).
In Ligue 1, six PSG players occupy the top 10 in terms of the number of matches. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) is by far the Parisian who has played the most this season, accompanied by Portuguese midfielders Vitinha and João Neves. Canadian defender from Nice, Moïse Bombito is on the podium of L1 players in terms of minutes (4,583). Finally, for Ligue 2, no one does better than Louis Mafouta, Amiens center forward and Central African international (44 matches, 3,804 minutes).
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