May 31 – A list of the players from Europe’s Big 5 leagues who played the most number of minutes for their clubs since 1 July 2016, shows eight having played more than 5,000 minutes.
Dubbed by the CIES Football Observatory as Stakhanovists, after the Soviet propaganda legend Stakhanov who allegedly “did the work of 10 men” in the coal mines, the list shows the value of consistency in terms of team selection with ten players in the top 100 from the two Champions League finalists.
Atletico Madrid and France striker Anton Greizman tops the list, followed by Leicester City’s Wilfried Ndidi and Koke Resureccion (also Atletico Madrid). Barcelona’s Neymar and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba come in at impressive seventh and eighth.
The 10 Champions League players who will be shaking the tiredness out of their legs for one final push for glory this season are five from Juventus (Higuain, Buffon, Bonucci, Mandzukic and Khedira) and five from Real Madrid (Kroos, Ronaldo, Ramos, Marcelo and Navas). Doubtless the summer break cannot come too soon for them.
See the full list at http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2016/190/en/
Source: CIES Football Observatory
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