Messi 2nd, Ramos 8th: Football players with the longest playing time in international competitions in history

Among supporters of international football matches, there is great division. However, there is no doubt that international football competitions are still very important to billions of people around the world. The debate over club versus national team competition has been raging for decades. In reality, players' priorities lie with the people who ultimately pay their wages. However, international football remains popular and the World Cup is arguably the most important tournament in the competition, even more so than the Champions League.

More than 5 billion viewers from every continent tuned in to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with hundreds of millions of supporters coming to the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer. The number of international matches at the start of the season is frustrating for many supporters and managers, but some players always turn up for their country, even in friendlies. Using data from Transfermarkt, we analyzed which stars have played the most international minutes in history.

Which players have the most international playing time in history?

When it comes to international minutes played records, Cristiano Ronaldo reigns supreme. The Portugal international has made more appearances for his country than any other player (225) and scored the most goals (143), ranking him first on this list. The 40-year-old has played 17,926 minutes for Portugal, winning the European Championship but the Jules Rimet trophy remains elusive. Lionel Messi won the famous World Cup and the Barcelona legend ranked second with 16,139 minutes of playing time.

While Messi and Ronaldo are recognized around the world, Menor Figueroa is relatively unknown globally, but the former Wigan defender ranks third with 15,770 minutes played. Five goalkeepers finish in the top 20, with Gianluigi Buffon (15,295) in fifth place. The top twenty list features players from several continents, including seven from Europe. This list is compiled based on Transfermarkt data and is accurate to the best of our knowledge, but there may be some differences with Asian and African athletes.