New data has revealed that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been the most utilised outfield player in world football over the last three years. The Portuguese midfielder's remarkable durability has seen him accumulate an extraordinary number of minutes for both club and country since late 2022.
The Iron Man of Football
According to a report released by the CIES Football Observatory on Wednesday, Bruno Fernandes has played a staggering 16,880 minutes across 192 official matches. The 31-year-old, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, has been a near-permanent fixture in the team under managers Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim, famously avoiding any significant injuries.
The study, which only counts minutes in competitive fixtures, shows Fernandes leads the global ranking. Remarkably, he has achieved this total having played seven fewer games than the man in second place.
Who Else Makes the Top Five?
Real Madrid and Uruguay's dynamic midfielder Federico Valverde takes second spot with 16,428 minutes from 199 appearances. In a surprising third place is 37-year-old Benfica and Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi, the former Manchester City player, with 16,310 minutes from 187 games.
The top five is completed by Palmeiras defender Gustavo Gomez (16,040 minutes) and Wolves midfielder Jhon Arias (15,864 minutes), who joined from Fluminense last summer.
Premier League Presence in the Rankings
The data underscores the physical demands on top Premier League stars. Five other players from the English top flight feature in the top 20 most-used players globally over the three-year period:
- Arsenal's Declan Rice (8th)
- Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk (11th)
- Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders (16th)
- Chelsea's Moises Caicedo (19th)
- Sunderland's Granit Xhaka (20th)
Notably, Virgil van Dijk is the second-most used player over the last two years alone, with 11,250 minutes, just behind the evergreen Otamendi. The report also highlights the heavy workloads of global superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Joshua Kimmich, and England captain Harry Kane, who, with 14,491 minutes, is the world's most-used centre-forward after Mbappe.
The findings paint a clear picture of the incredible physical and mental resilience required at the pinnacle of modern football, with Bruno Fernandes currently setting the benchmark for availability and endurance.
