Lovers of the Premier League who have been watching the entire UEFA European Championships this summer might be familiar with a number of the names that have been starring for their respective nations throughout the tournament.
Admittedly, games such as Football Manager and FIFA (or PES) have always been a great resource tool ahead of a major championships that feature nations that may have a squad of players who have travelled to compete in the competition; the likes of North Macedonia, Ukraine and Slovakia all perhaps jump in the mind for some.
However, the 2020 UEFA European Championships – which has proven to be a rather enjoyable competition to watch as the knockout rounds got underway – is one where those who follow English football would have no real trouble recognising many of the players on the pitch.
According to a report by Sky Sports, the players who represent clubs in England’s top league have managed to clock up more minutes than players from any other league around the world.
The report has revealed that 24,698 minutes have been clocked by those currently playing football in England, whilst 14,979 minutes had been clocked by those in the German football leagues including the Bundesliga and just 14,256 minutes were clocked by those playing in the Italian divisions.
Each of the minutes provided were prior to the four Euro 2020 quarter-finals that took place over the weekend, with each of the ties that were played to have provided bettors who visited the top betting sites with some excellent odds that would have been rather rewarding if they had landed for them.
When looking at the breakdown of the minutes acquired by players of specific clubs, there are some rather surprising numbers that would raise a number of eyebrows and get football fans wondering.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Premier League champions Manchester City have the most minutes registered by their players at the current competition, with Pep Guardiola’s men having clocked up a total of 3,458 minutes prior to the quarter-finals, where the numbers were only ever going to increase.
Juventus follow them with 2,914 total minutes, whilst Champions League winners Chelsea have 2,910 minutes on the clock. Bayern Munich have 2,805 whilst Tottenham Hotspur round off the top five with 2,381 minutes.
Real Madrid might not have a single player in the Spain squad – who have reached the semi-finals without them – but they still rank eighth on the list with 2,069 minutes, whilst Manchester United have just three fewer minutes than them.
As Sky Sports reported, other surprises include Atalanta beating Barcelona to 11th spot – ahead of clubs such as Inter Milan (14th), Leicester (16th), Liverpool (17th), Paris Saint-Germain (18th), AC Milan (21st) and Atletico Madrid (24th).
