Messi and Ronaldo Still Top for Most Time on the Field

Staff Report: PNN

In international football history, the record for most time spent on the field is held by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo leads with 17,926 minutes over 226 matches for Portugal, while Messi has played 16,139 minutes over 196 matches.

The third place goes to Honduras defender Maynor Figueroa, who played 15,770 minutes over 181 matches for his national team from 2003 to 2022.

Italian legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon ranks fourth. Despite playing 15,295 minutes over 176 matches, he is the only goalkeeper in the top ten. Fifth place is Croatia’s Ballon d’Or star Luka Modrić, who has spent 15,173 minutes on the field across 194 matches.

Among the top five, Ronaldo, Messi, and Modrić are still active, so their total minutes are likely to increase.

Other players in the top ten include Claudio Suárez (15,072 minutes), Diego Godín (13,873 minutes), Sergio Ramos (13,739 minutes), Alexis Sánchez (13,733 minutes), and Vitalijs Astafjevs (13,651 minutes).