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The last two years have seen a lot of football being played, what with the FIFA World Cup in summer 2014 and the Copa America in the summer of 2015 adding to an already packed European calendar. When we look at players who have played the most minutes in the last two seasons, the man on top of the list is a surprising name, and yet, when you think about it, Diego Godin always seems to be on the field.
The Uruguayan captain leads everyone in terms of minutes played over the course of the last two seasons, and is deservedly on the list, having taken Atletico Madrid to the Champions League finals in 2014, alongwith winning the La Liga title with them in the same season. He was also part of the Uruguay team that reached the World Cup round of 16, and the Uruguay side that got eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Copa America.
Godin has made 126 appearances since June 2013, and is the only outfield player on the list, to have started all the matches. In only one of those matches was he substituted, which happened against Slovenia in a friendly. In all the other matches, he has played the full 90 minutes, or 120, depending on if the match went to extra-time.
Manuel Neuer comes in at 2nd on the list, just ahead of German teammate Toni Kroos. The top 5 is rounded off by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, both of whom have played plenty of minutes for their teams, Sanchez having played for both Barcelona and Arsenal during this period.
Kroos and Sanchez are the only two players on the list to have played for two clubs, the German for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and Alexis for Barcelona and Arsenal. What is also interesting is that the two of them have actually played more games than Godin, with both of them having been involved in 137 matches.
Kroos actually has 130 starts, 4 more than Godin. However, the fact that he has been substituted in many of those appearances and that the Chilean Sanchez has many matches when he came on as a substitute, sees them below the Uruguayan Godin on the list.
The only other Premier League player on the list is Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker, who comes in at 8th place. Serie A’s representatives are Leonardo Bonucci and Gianluigi Buffon, both Juventus players, who have been integral parts of their tremendous form over the last 2 seasons.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, is placed 9th on the list, while Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano rounds off the top 10.
| Name | Total Minutes | Appearances | Starts | Substitute appearances |
| Diego Godin | 11,345 | 126 | 126 | 0 |
| Manuel Neuer | 10,967 | 113 | 112 | 1 |
| Toni Kroos | 10,636 | 137 | 130 | 7 |
| Lionel Messi | 10,750 | 127 | 119 | 8 |
| Alexis Sanchez | 10,392 | 137 | 117 | 20 |
| Gianluigi Buffon | 10,347 | 116 | 116 | 0 |
| Leonardo Bonucci | 10,309 | 117 | 113 | 4 |
| Per Mertesacker | 10,172 | 115 | 114 | 1 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 10,144 | 119 | 117 | 2 |
| Javier Mascherano | 10,075 | 121 | 114 | 7 |
