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Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan travelled more than 100,000 miles last season – and veteran Luka Modric played more games than anyone else in the world, according to a new Fifpro report into players’ welfare.<\/b><\/p>\n
It also found players at the Fifa Club World Cup – which took place in June and July – did not get a safe amount of off-season or pre-season days.<\/p>\n
Football players are caught in a “perfect storm of how not to treat a human”, says the international players’ union.<\/p>\n
Fifpro has launched its fifth annual report on the issue, looking at how much players played and travelled in 2024-25.<\/p>\n
Alex Phillips, the secretary general, said: “Last year, the Ballon d’Or winner [Rodri] got injured and missed nearly a season. <\/p>\n
“This season, the Ballon d’Or winner [Ousmane Dembele] is out again with a muscle injury. <\/p>\n
“How long will this keep happening until even the club owners realise it’s bad for business? <\/p>\n
“We’re looking at the player health issue but even the people owning clubs and leagues are starting to take note and realise the system isn’t working for anyone.”<\/p>\n
The research paper looked into seven sections, including risks to players’ health because of calendar congestion and long international travel, the short spell in between seasons, the heat – and how young footballers are playing more than ever.<\/p>\n
Among its findings were that Modric, who turned 40 this summer, played more games than any other player in 2024-25, including friendlies – 76 for Real Madrid and Croatia.<\/p>\n
Europe-based Ryan had to travel 169,000km (105,000 miles) in the season for Australia duty.<\/p>\n
And Lamine Yamal has played 130 games by the age of 18, which is far more than most of his peers ever managed.<\/p>\n
The study found the Club World Cup dramatically added to some players’ workload too.<\/p>\n
Darren Burgess, a high-performance consultant for Fifpro, said: “It’s a perfect storm of how not to treat a human – a large number of games and less than the recommended off-season days to go into a large number of games.<\/p>\n
“The cycle goes on.”<\/p>\n
BBC Sport has a look at some of Fifpro’s findings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n