Fifpro Report Highlights Player Welfare Concerns in Football
Australia's goalkeeper Mathew Ryan traveled over 100,000 miles last season, while veteran Luka Modric played more matches than any other player globally, according to a recent report by Fifpro on player welfare.
The report also revealed that players participating in the FIFA Club World Cup, held in June and July, did not receive an adequate amount of off-season or pre-season recovery days.
The international players' union described the current situation as a "perfect storm of how not to treat a human."
Fifpro has released its fifth annual report examining player workloads and travel for the 2024-25 season.
Alex Phillips, the Secretary General, stated, "Last year, the Ballon d'Or winner [Rodri] suffered an injury that sidelined him for nearly a season. This season, the current Ballon d'Or winner [Ousmane Dembele] is again out with a muscle injury. How long will this continue before club owners recognize that it is detrimental to business? We are addressing player health issues, but even club and league owners are starting to acknowledge that the current system is failing everyone."
The research covered seven areas, including health risks from congested schedules, extensive international travel, insufficient off-season breaks, and the increasing workloads of young players.
Among the findings, Modric, who turned 40 this summer, played more matches than any other player last season, totaling 76 appearances for Real Madrid and Croatia, including friendlies.
Europe-based Ryan logged an astonishing 169,000 kilometers (approximately 105,000 miles) in travel for international duty with Australia.
Additionally, 18-year-old Lamine Yamal has already played 130 matches, significantly more than most of his contemporaries.
The study indicated that the Club World Cup significantly increased the workload for several players.
Darren Burgess, a high-performance consultant for Fifpro, remarked, "It’s a perfect storm of how not to treat a human—an excessive number of games coupled with insufficient off-season days before entering another demanding season. The cycle continues."
BBC Sport has analyzed some of Fifpro's findings.
Excessive Match Load
Including international and friendly matches, ten players participated in 69 or more games last season, with Modric leading the charge at 76 matches.
The Fifpro report noted, "All ten players listed participated in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and exceeded the recommended maximum of 55 match appearances per season."
Four of the top ten players were from Paris St-Germain, while the top two were Real Madrid's Modric and Federico Valverde.
Valverde also recorded the highest number of 'back-to-back' appearances—58 matches within five days or 120 hours.
Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae, a defender from South Korea, faced a grueling schedule of 20 matches in just 73 days, which significantly increased his risk of injury; he suffered an Achilles injury in October and was sidelined in May.
The report highlighted that younger players, like Tottenham's Archie Gray and Real Madrid's Arda Guler, had the most matchday squad appearances. Gray, now 19, was a substitute on 80 occasions for Tottenham and the England Under-21 team, participating in 63 of those matches.
Chris Wood, a striker for Nottingham Forest and New Zealand, expressed concerns during a Fifpro video call, noting, "One or two seasons of 60-plus games is manageable. However, entering the third, fourth, or fifth consecutive year of such a heavy schedule can lead to serious issues."
His Forest head coach, Ange Postecoglou, echoed these sentiments, stating, "It’s not solely about the number of games; players are not getting adequate breaks anymore. A workload of 50-55 games a year, excluding internationals, is manageable, but players need a minimum of a month off each year, which I don’t believe they are receiving."
Excessive Travel
Former Brighton goalkeeper Ryan was the most traveled player globally, covering over 100,000 miles and spending more than 217 hours traveling—equivalent to nine full days in a year.
Ryan began last season with Roma in Italy before moving to Lens in France in January, and he recently joined Levante in Spain.
New Zealand's Marko Stamenic, who was on loan at Olympiacos from Forest and now plays for Swansea, ranked second for travel distance, while compatriot Ben Waine, currently with Port Vale, was third, having traveled 157,000 kilometers (97,000 miles).
Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana, previously with Manchester United, undertook 33 international cross-border trips, spanning 69 time zones, traveling 67,000 kilometers for Cameroon and 60,000 kilometers with United.
The report also highlighted Chelsea's Moises Caicedo, who played 360 minutes across two continents and three countries within 14 days in October, averaging a recovery time of 110.8 hours while flying more than half the length of the equator.
Wood added, "Sometimes you find yourself on a plane just three hours after finishing a game, leading to 30 hours of travel. It’s far from ideal for recovery following an intense match."
Insufficient Off-Season Duration
The report indicated that elite European club and national team players typically have only about three weeks off between seasons, a stark contrast to other sports leagues.
In comparison, the NBA offers between 14 and 23 weeks off, depending on playoff participation, while both the Australian Football League and Major League Baseball provide a minimum of 14 weeks off.
Burgess noted, "This highlights how far football needs to go compared to other sports. The emphasis in those sports has been on player performance and well-being. It demonstrates that with the right people involved, improvements can be made."
The Fifpro report recommends that players should receive a 28-day off-season followed by another 28-day pre-season. However, none of the teams in the Club World Cup met these targets, including Chelsea, the winners, who had just finished their domestic season.
Austrian club Salzburg resumed training just eight days after their exit to prepare for Champions League qualifiers, while Tunisian side Esperance had only ten days off, and Benfica had 14 days before starting training for their domestic super cups. Treble winners Paris St-Germain, who finished as runners-up in the Club World Cup, had a mere 22 days off, followed by just seven days of pre-season.