World Cup 2018: 6 Clubs With the Most Number of Players Going to Russia

Every summer, there is a major international tournament and because of which, many of the top clubs will be without some of their key players at the start of preseason.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid’s preseason late in 2016 because of the Euro, and in 2017 because of the Confederations Cup.

However, in a World Cup year, the top European clubs usually start preseason with the squad players, players from countries that did not qualify for the World Cup and a few others who missed out on a World Cup berth.

For example, Liverpool will be without only 8 players from the start of the preseason, while Juventus will be without 11 players even though Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup.

If Italy qualified, then Juventus would have had the largest contingent in Russia but right now, they are not in the Top 6 most represented clubs.

Juventus are on par with Manchester United and Bayern Munich with 11 players each going to the World Cup. This puts them joint 7th in the list of most represented clubs. That being said, take a look at the 6 clubs with the most number of players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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#6. Tottenham Hotspur (12 players)

Spurs have the most number of English players at the World Cup

England is represented by five Spurs player which is also the most by a single club, and all five players from the North London club are very important to the Three Lions. The newly appointed England captain Harry Kane is joined by Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose, Eric Dier and Dele Alli. All five players could potentially start together.

Tottenham club captain, Hugo Lloris, is also the captain of France and he has a good chance of lifting the World Cup next month.

The English players from Spurs will square off against their Belgium teammates Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele in the group stage.

Davinson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen, and Son Heung-min will play for Colombia, Denmark, and South Korea respectively. All three players are crucial players for their respective countries if they are to advance to the knockout stage.

#5. Paris Saint-Germain (12 players)

Any or all three of PSG's front three can light up the World Cup

Paris Saint-Germain would have had more players at the World Cup but an injury ruled out Dani Alves while Adrien Rabiot, Javier Pastore, and Layvin Kurzawa were left out.

Despite the absence of Dani Alves, there are three players from PSG in the Brazil squad including their talisman Neymar, and the two central defenders Marquinhos and Thiago Silva. All three players could be starting for them in Russia.

PSG also have three French players traveling to Russia of which only Kylian Mbappe is likely to start. Joining Mbappe are Presnel Kimpembe and Alphonse Areola.

Julian Draxler and Kevin Trapp are part of the Germany squad while Thomas Meunier is expected to start for Belgium.

Angel Di Maria and Giovani Lo Celso are part of the Argentina squad and are also potential starters. Completing the long list of South America players from PSG is Edinson Cavani who is one of Uruguay's biggest stars.

#4. Chelsea (14 players)

Chelsea have 13 players at the World Cup despite some major exclusions

Even after the exclusion of Cesc Fabregas, Marcos Alonso, Álvaro Morata, Pedro Rodriguez, David Luiz, Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley and Tiémoué Bakayoko; 13 players contracted to Chelsea will be heading to Russia.

The two English players from Chelsea are Gary Cahill - who also happens to be the most capped and senior most player in the current England squad - and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

However, Chelsea have three players from Belgium heading to the World Cup, namely, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, and Michy Batshuayi, of which the former two are sure-shot starters.

Two key players of the French team, Olivier Giroud and N’Golo Kante, are also from Chelsea. However, Cesar Azpilicueta is the only Spaniard from Chelsea going to Russia while four others have been left out.

Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are the other two European players from Chelsea heading to the World Cup.

The two African players from Chelsea heading to Russia are Victor Moses and Kenneth Omeruo both of Nigeria.

Interestingly, Nigeria have the youngest squad at the World Cup. Also, 24-year-old Omeruo who has played 38 games for Nigeria has never played for Chelsea. He has been on loan to four different clubs since joining the Chelsea in 2012.

Finally, there are two South American players from Chelsea going to the World Cup. Willian of Brazil and Willy Caballero of Argentina.

#3. Barcelona (14 players)

All members of Barcelona's fabulous four will be at the World Cup

Barring the two Portuguese players, Nelson Semedo and Andre Gomes, there were no major exclusions from the Barcelona team.

Contrary to the previous two World Cups, there are only four Barcelona players in the Spain squad but all four are expected to start. Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba are the four Spaniards.

There are five more players from Barcelona who will be playing for European teams. Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele are part of a strong French squad. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, and Thomas Vermaelen will play for Germany, Croatia, and Belgium respectively.

Barcelona are well represented in the South American teams as well. The biggest name is obviously the Argentina captain Lionel Messi, followed by his strike partner, Luis Suarez, who is a crucial player for Uruguay.

Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho are probable starters for Brazil and the club’s January acquisition Yerry Mina will represent Colombia.

#2. Real Madrid (15 players)

Real Madrid have representatives in 8 countries

Real Madrid have more players representing Spain at the World Cup than Barcelona this time around. Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is joined by Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Marco Asensio, Isco and Lucas Vasquez.

The Croatian pair of Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic have been unsurprisingly picked. Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, and Raphael Varane are the remaining European players from Real Madrid and all three players are expected to start for their respective countries in Russia.

The Los Blancos have representatives in Africa, South America, and North America also.

Marcelo and Casemiro are expected to start for Brazil at the World Cup and they will face clubmate Keylor Navas in the group stage game between Brazil and Costa Rica.

Achraf Hakimi who was born in Madrid has opted to play for Morocco. The 19-year-old is expected to start for an exciting Morocco squad.

#1. Manchester City (16 players)

Manchester City have the most number of players at the World Cup

The most shocking exclusion of the FIFA World Cup was arguably that of Manchester City’s Leroy Sane and even then, the Premier League’s record-breaking Champions are the most represented team at the World Cup.

Pep Guardiola’s side has four Englishmen heading to Russia - Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Fabian Delph. They also have four Brazilians at the World Cup in Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Ederson, and Danilo.

Belgium and Argentina have two players each from Manchester City. The former is represented by Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne, and the latter by Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio Aguero.

Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Benjamin Mendy complete the list of Man City players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.