MOST ATHLETES ARE already in the top one per cent of the world’s fittest people, but football is the kind of sport that many athletes simply couldn’t handle.
Compare it to running, for example. Football is 90 per cent running, but the difference between a marathoner and a footballer is stark. Marathoners settle into one sustained gear for hours. Footballers walk, then jog, then sprint, then repeat, dozens of times a match. It’s like a 90-minute HIIT session with very few breaks.
With the need for strength, balance and the ability to cover at least 10 kilometres per match, football is one of the most physically taxing sports there is – and that’s before we even get to any semblance of skill. Footballers combine speed, strength and endurance like no other athletes. But even among the elite, some players stand above the rest.
Not every footballer can hit top speed in the 89th minute. Only a handful can still control the ball at the end of a match with the same deftness they used at the beginning. And even fewer can dig deep into their reserves to find the extra gear when it matters most.
Here, we’re taking a look at the best of those players.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Who else? Cristiano Ronaldo is still banging in goals at the world cup at age 41. He reportedly sits around 7 per cent body fat and trains twice a day when his schedule allows. Mornings for technical work, speed and agility, then a separate gym session for functional strength and explosive power.
His conditioning is football-specific, with short, explosive interval work that mirrors the demands of a match. He’s also famously strict with his diet, having no alcohol, minimal processed sugar and six smaller meals a day with lean protein and whole grains. Even his sleep is engineered. He’s spoken about splitting rest into several shorter cycles across the day rather than one long block, working with a sleep coach to maximise recovery windows around training.
Jude Bellingham
It’s Jude Bellingham’s job to cover most of the pitch and contribute in defence and attack. The output required is absurd, with repeated sprints, tackles and forward bursts. It’s that engine (and the physique that comes with it) that landed Bellingham a role as the face of SKIMS Mens – a position they don’t just hand out for nothing. If you need any further proof of Bellingham’s fitness, take a look at the vascularity of his legs in the picture above.
Youri Tielemans
Belgium’s Youri Tielemans is averaging 12.36 kilometres travelled per game so far in the world cup, for a total of 61km through five games. That’s an average of a kilometre every seven minutes and 15 seconds that he’s on the pitch. And of course, the ball isn’t even in play for the full 90 minutes. He’s covered this much distance mostly from short, explosive movements and disjointed sprints. In Belgium’s win over Senegal, Tielemans ran 15.1km. A true box-to-box midfielder, Tielemans has perhaps the best endurance of any footballer.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland shouldn’t be able to move the way he does. At 194cm and 95kg, he has the size and strength to outmuscle centre backs inside the box, but he can also outpace them.
At least some of that rare blend can be attributed to Haaland’s diet. He has roughly 6,000-calories a day, with large cuts of red meat, organ meats like liver and heart, raw milk and honey, eggs, sourdough and coffee. It’s not a diet most nutritionists would prescribe, but it’s clearly working.
Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé has clocked the fastest speed of the world cup so far, at 37.6km/h. To put that into perspective, that’s faster than most amateur cyclists can manage on a flat road. He’s also doing it on grass, in boots and with a ball at his feet. Mbappé does it match after match, often late in the game, when everyone else on the pitch is running on fumes.
Brian Brobbey
Brian Brobbey is a human battering ram. He’s the kind of forward who wins the physical battle before the ball arrives. Brobbey has said his gym work isn’t about getting bigger, it’s mostly for his knees, and he barely trains his legs to add size. Whatever he’s doing instead, it works: he landed a cover with our cousins over at Men’s Health Netherlands in 2024, showing off an impressively chiselled set of abs.
Nestory Irankunda
Aussie starboy Nestory Irankunda clocked the fastest speed of the world cup’s first matchday, at 35.37km/h. At a modest 175cm tall, Irankunda can’t harness the long, lengthy strides of some of the taller speedsters. It’s all energy and power – which, as evidenced by his long-distance shots, he has plenty of.
Marcos Llorente
A Men’s Health Spain cover star from a few years ago, Marcos Llorente’s position has bounced between midfielder and fullback throughout his career. Those two roles don’t share much in common except for work rate – they are often the players who cover the most ground. Ask any Spain fan what defines Llorente and the answer’s the same: he never runs out of steam.
Vinícius Júnior
Give Vinícius Júnior a metre of space on the wing and it’s already too late. His stepovers, drag-backs and sudden changes of pace can leave defenders grasping at a shirt that isn’t there anymore. He also has a rocking set of abs, as seen in some training photos he shared last year.
Adama Traoré
No, Adama Traoré did not make Spain’s team for this world cup. Truthfully, he hasn’t played for his national team since 2021. But how could we not include him? Look at those arms! The striations on his shoulders! Traoré is known around the world for his physique, and it’s not just for show. He consistently embarasses defenders with his speed and strength. And while he didn’t make Spain’s squad for this world cup, he deserves a place here.
