Football injuries cost European clubs £2bn over the last four years

Injuries across Europe’s top five football leagues cost clubs £2bn over the last four seasons amid growing concerns surrounding player workload.

There were 14,292 injuries across the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga from 2020-21 to 2023-24, according to the Howden Men’s European Football Injury Index.

In England, champions Manchester City recorded 57 injuries at a total cost of €32.3m (£27.9m) but Manchester United topped the list with a total injury cost of €47.4m (£39.5m). Chelsea had the highest average cost per injury of €640,000 (£533,000).

It comes amid unrest in the game over player workloads, with footballers threatening to strike and leagues joining forces with unions to challenge Fifa in the European courts.

Injuries show physical demands

“The 2023/24 Howden Men’s European Football Injury Index underscores the ever-increasing physical demands on players,” said James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden.

“As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods, with a notable five per cent rise in injury costs this season alone.

“Our data captures the demands of modern football and we hope it serves as a valuable tool for players, clubs and governing bodies in their ongoing discussions.”

City captain Rodri was ruled out for the remainder of the season just days after suggesting players could strike over the increased number of matches forced upon them, including an expanded Fifa Club World Cup next summer.

“It is getting to a tipping point. The feedback we have from players is that there is too much football being played and there is constant expansion,” Premier League chief Richard Masters said this week.

“The Premier League hasn’t changed shape. What has changed over the last few decades is the march of international and regional football competitions.”

The cost to the major five leagues for injuries last season was €732,02m (£609m), with the cost calculated by multiplying the daily base salary of the injured player by the number of days they were unavailable because of an injury.

Covid-19 sufferers were excluded and the salary statistics were produced by Sporting Intelligence.

“Fifa and Uefa, cycle after cycle, have increased constantly the size of their competitions for both clubs and national teams and we have now reached a saturation point in the calendar,” said Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Italy’s Serie A, said of the workload.

“Fifa imposed their new format and competitions without any discussion, consultation and without accepting to have any form of relationship with the other competitions organisers.”