The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is the first to be played through the Northern Hemisphere’s winter and as such, the top football leagues around the world will have to stop as their players head to the tournament.
Most of the teams in Europe’s top five leagues will see at least one player leave for the showpiece event, but which side will have the largest number of players in Qatar?
From the Bundesliga and La Liga to the Premier League and Serie A, we take a look at the five teams who have the most players at the World Cup.
MORE: Which leagues have the most players at the 2022 World Cup?
Which club has the most players at World Cup 2022?
Bayern Munich (17)
German champions Bayern Munich, who have now won the Bundesliga a staggering 10 times in succession, also boast the most players going to the 2022 World Cup from a single club.
Although the majority of their players will turn out for European countries at the tournament, they also have players representing Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco.
That includes star forward Sadio Mane, who, despite suffering an injury in Bayern’s second-to-last league game before the World Cup break, was still selected by the Senegal.
Clubs with most players at World Cup 2022: Top 10
1. Bayern Munich (17)
As mentioned above, no side has more of their players at the 2022 World Cup than German champions Bayern Munich.
Full list of Bayern Munich players at the 2022 World Cup:
Dayot Upamecano (France), Benjamin Pavard (France), Kingsley Coman (France), Lucas Hernandez (France), Alphonso Davies (Canada), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands), Serge Gnabry (Germany), Thomas Muller (Germany), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Leroy Sane (Germany), Leon Goretzka (Germany), Joshua Kimmich (Germany), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Josip Stanisic (Croatia).
2. Barcelona (16)
Despite struggling through well-documented financial struggles in recent years, former La Liga champions Barcelona will still see 16 of their players go to the 2022 World Cup, a figure behind only that of Bayern.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the Barca players that will feature at the World Cup will do so for Spain.
Full list of Barcelona players at the 2022 World Cup:
Ronald Araujo (Uruguay), Sergio Busquets (Spain), Jordi Alba (Spain), Ansu Fati (Spain), Eric Garcia (Spain), Gavi (Spain), Pedri (Spain), Ferran Torres (Spain), Andreas Christensen (Denmark), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Ousmane Dembele (France), Jules Kounde (France), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Raphinha (Brazil), Ter Stegen (Germany).
3. Manchester City (16)
United’s rivals Manchester City have pipped them to joint-second spot on this list with 16 of their players going to the 2022 World Cup. It would be more if Norway had managed to qualify but instead star striker Erling Haaland will miss out on appearing at the showpiece event.
Across all clubs, City have the most English players heading to the tournament.
Full list of Manchester City players at the 2022 World Cup:
John Stones (England), Kyle Walker (England), Kalvin Phillips (England), Phil Foden (England), Jack Grealish (England), Manuel Akanji (Switzerland), Nathan Ake (Netherlands), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Joao Cancelo (Portugal), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Ruben Dias (Portugal), Ederson (Brazil), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Aymeric Laporte (Spain), Rodri (Spain), Julian Alvarez (Argentina).
4. Al-Sadd (15)
The second of two non-European clubs on the list, Qatari side Al-Sadd have seen 14 of their players called up for World Cup duty.
Of those players, all but two will turn out for Qatar, with the exceptions coming in the form of Ghana’s Andre Ayew, who Premier League fans will be familiar with, and South Korea’s Jung Woo-young.
Full list of Al-Sadd players at the 2022 World Cup:
Saad Al Sheeb (Qatar), Meshaal Barsham (Qatar), Pedro Miguel (Qatar), Musaab Khidir (Qatar), Tarek Salman (Qatar), Boualem Khoukhi (Qatar), Abdelkarim Hassan (Qatar), Ali Asad (Qatar), Mohammed Waad (Qatar), Salem Al Hajri (Qatar), Mustafa Meshaal (Qatar), Hassan Al Haydos (Qatar), Akram Afif (Qatar), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Jung Woo-young (South Korea).
5. Manchester United (14)
Despite not winning the Premier League for eight seasons (likely to become nine in 2022/23), Manchester United still retain one of the most expensive squads in the world, which includes 14 players who will head to the 2022 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo may have made headlines before the tournament after his explosive interview about the Red Devils but he’ll be hoping to take the limelight in a different manner in Qatar when the action kicks off.
Full list of Manchester United players at the 2022 World Cup:
Antony (Brazil), Casemiro (Brazil), Alex Telles (on loan to Sevilla — Brazil), Diogo Dalot (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Fred (Brazil), Harry Maguire (England), Marcus Rashford (England), Tyrell Malacia (Netherlands), Luke Shaw (England), Facundo Pellistri (Uruguay), Raphael Varane (France).
MORE: Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United? Piers Morgan interview fallout and what happens next
6. Real Madrid (13)
La Liga and Champions League holders Real Madrid have seen 13 of their players selected for various World Cup squads. That includes 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who was called up by France despite previous snubs on the international stage.
Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Rodrygo have all made the final Brazil squad, who are the favourites to win the competition.
Full list of Real Madrid players at the 2022 World Cup:
Karim Benzema (France), Eduardo Camavinga (France), Aurelien Tchouameni (France), Marco Asensio (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Eder Militao (Brazil), Vinicius Jr (Brazil), Rodrygo (Brazil), Luka Modric (Croatia), Antonio Rudiger (Germany), Federico Valverde (Uruguay).
7. Chelsea (13)
The Premier League side and Champions League winners from just two seasons ago, Chelsea have 12 players that will join up with their various international squads for the World Cup.
Full list of Chelsea players at the 2022 World Cup:
Mason Mount (England), Conor Gallagher (England), Raheem Sterling (England), Eduoard Mendy (Senegal), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Christian Pulisic (USA), Ethan Ampadu (On loan to Spezia — Wales), Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain), Kai Havertz (Germany), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco), Mateo Kovacic (Croatia), Thiago Silva (Brazil), Denis Zakaria (Switzerland).
8. Al-Hilal (12)
Known as the most decorated Asian club of all time thanks to their 65 official titles, Saudi Professional League champions Al-Hilal have 12 players who will be heading to the World Cup in 2022.
On this list, they’re the only side who will see each of their players join up with the same national side: Saudi Arabia.
Full list of Al-Hilal players at the 2022 World Cup:
Mohammed Al-Owais (Saudi Arabia), Yasser Al-Shahrani (Saudi Arabia), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Saudi Arabia), Mohammed Al-Breik (Saudi Arabia), Saud Abdulhamid (Saudi Arabia), Salman Al-Faraj (Saudi Arabia), Mohamed Kanno (Saudi Arabia), Abdulellah Al-Malki (Saudi Arabia), Abdullah Otayf (Saudi Arabia), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Saleh Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia).
MORE: World Cup squads 2022: All 32 official national team rosters for FIFA men’s tournament in Qatar
9. Six teams (11)
Six different sides will see 11 of their players head to the 2022 World Cup.
Those teams are Premier League top-four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur, French champions PSG, Serie A’s Juventus, Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund, Dutch giants Ajax and La Liga’s Atletico Madrid.
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