Apart from their natural talents and skills, footballers need to take care of their bodies in order to always stay fit. Football is a very demanding sport that involves a lot of running, stretching, movements, and other physical activities.
To be fit for matches, players need to always be in great physical conditions during training as well as at home. There is the need to build stamina, agility, and speed to be at their best at games.
Also expected from football stars is the need to be fit during the seasons and even off-seasons.
So for a long-lasting career at the highest level, it is necessary for them to be fit with training, good nutrition and dieting, regular exercising, and taking proper care of their body.
In this piece, TOP SOCCER BLOG brings you the top 10 fittest footballers in the world in 2022.
NB: The fittest players, according to this list, does not refer to the footballers with the biggest physique or the strongest; it simply comprises of players with an excellent track record of always being in good physical condition, health, rarely injured, amazing physique and regularly play so many matches during the season.
1. Inaki Williams
Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams has a remarkable record of going six years without getting injured!
The amazing feat made him set a La Liga record of playing over 200 consecutive games — from 2016.
More notable is the fact that Williams is a pacey winger who likes running with the ball a lot. Footballers with such a playing style regularly get injured due to constant fouling.
Inaki Williams’ fitness methods need to be studied.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is renowned for being one of the most athletic players in football history. The 37-year-old possesses a stunning body, rarely gets injured, and is still competing at the highest level despite his advanced age — when so many footballers would have retired.
The Portugal star boasts an extraordinary set of athletic skills, combining rapid pace and agility with elite aerial ability and power.
Ronaldo’s tireless dedication to keeping his body fit has seen him transform from a very skinny teenager that arrived at Manchester United from Sporting back in 2003 to the rippling physique he has today.
Apart from his fitness exercises, CR7 does not drink alcohol and doesn’t have any tattoos as he regularly donates blood and bone marrow.
3. James Milner
James Milner is a versatile player that can play in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield, and at full-back.
At 36 years of age, Milner is showing no sign of slowing down yet, as he recently won Liverpool’s lactate test at the start of pre-season. He has won the training competition every year since he joined back in the summer of 2015.
He made 39 appearances in all competitions last season and signed a one-year contract extension.
4. Adama Traore
From a skinny youngster at Barcelona’s La Masia Academy, Adama Traore has become one of the most athletic and fittest footballers on the planet.
Despite his muscular build, the Spanish winger is extremely fast and skillful.
With his Hulk-like muscles, one would think that he spends every moment away from the football pitch in the gym, lifting weights.
In reality, though, Traore has admitted a surprising fact: he does not lift weights. In fact, he has never lifted a weight in his life.
He might not be lifting weights, but he does spend a lot of time in the gym doing other activities such as band-resisted jumps and weighted knee raises.
But his intense agility and speed, despite his size, do not come from just doing intensive speed exercises. His coaching sessions with Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell found that a regime consisting of slowed-down exercises allows for better energy preservation and ball control.
Adama Traore also follows a strict diet.
5. Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah is one of the most lethal attackers in world football. The Egyptian King is also among the fittest players in the world thanks to a strict diet and rigorous exercise plan, including 3 am workouts during Ramadan.
Salah has a nice body figure. He loves yoga and sometimes celebrates with a yoga pose.
6. Robert Lewandowski
An accurate and efficient goalscorer with his head and both feet, Robert Lewandowski, is one of the best strikers in the world. The Polish legend is one of the few football players who never get injured.
He is also one of the fittest players in the world, and at the age of 33, he is firing on all cylinders.
For Lewandowski’s fitness, his wife, Anna Lewandowska, deserves credit as she is a personal trainer and nutritionist. She is also into karate and has won multiple medals in the World, European, and National Championships.
7. Mason Mount
Mason Mount has won the Chelsea Player of the Season award in the last two seasons, and it is not surprising why.
Apart from his impressive performances, the 23-year-old has made 53, 54, and 53 appearances in the last three seasons, respectively.
He plays a lot of matches as he rarely gets injured and always manages to stay and keep fit.
Mount is also getting stronger and stronger on the pitch, thanks to his fitness exercises.
8. Leroy Sane
Born to a former footballer father and a gymnast mother, Leroy Sane is among the fittest players in the world.
Although he is naturally blessed with terrific speed and abundant skills, Sane has a slender body. To ensure he doesn’t always get muscled off the ball by opposition defenders, the winger regularly works out in the gym — focusing on building his strength.
He’s surely getting rewarded for his efforts as he’s now having a more athletic build and doesn’t regularly get injured like before.
9. Leon Goretzka
Another Bayern Munich player on this list, Leon Goretzka’s incredible body transformation, has shocked many.
He joined Bayern from Schalke 04 as a highly rated youngster, but injuries affected his chances of establishing himself in the first team.
The German transformed himself during the coronavirus lockdown to add more bulk to his physique. It has helped him overcome his injury woes, and he’s now an important player for the Bavarians.
10. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, have dominated football for the past 15 years. Their long stay on top of the game is not just down to their talents alone but also their dedication and hard work.
Messi might not have a huge physical build, but he is very fit — which is why he’s still got it at the age of 35. He follows a strict diet and focuses on improving his agility and speed more than weight lifting.
