CIES are back with another interesting study, this time taking a look at the players with the most domestic-league appearances for a single big-five league club in the 2010s. Given that we are now in December, this coincides perfectly with the end of this decade.
One man emerged on top, boasting the higher percentage of domestic league minutes for the "42 clubs always present in the big-5". The most field player is none other than Steven Mandanda.
The Marseille goalkeeper featured in a whopping 84.2% of his team' Ligue 1 minutes in this decade, which tallies up to 28,419 minutes. This was enough to see him edge out Lionel Messi in second place.
The Argentine finished as runners-up but he is the most field outfield player over the past decade. His 28,309 minutes played in La Liga makes up for 83.4% of the minutes Barcelona have played. With the Argentine turning 33 next year, he should play fewer minutes but given the club's dependence on him, this should continue for a while.
Leo is the only forward to make the top 20. In fact, almost every name in the top 20 is either a goalkeeper or defender, with only three exceptions, one being Messi. The other two are Thomas Muller and Marek Hamsik.
Bayern Munich's German ace, who now finds playing time hard to come by at the Allianz Arena, comes in at fifth in this table, with Mandanda, Messi, Ruffier, and De Gea finishing ahead of him. His 23,023 minutes make up for 76.6%.
Hamsik, meanwhile, boasts 24,570 minutes (72.8%) to finish two spots below Muller, with Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos separating the two with his 25,172 domestic league minutes for Los Blancos in the 2010s (74.2%). Check out the top 10 below.
And here is the top 20.
