Figure 5
A scatter plot showing the relationship between seasons and mean minutes played per season by different positions in football. The x-axis represents the seasons from 1970 to 2020, and the y-axis represents the mean minutes played ranging from 3500 to 5500. The data points are color-coded and shaped differently to represent goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. The plot includes trend lines for all leagues and top 5 leagues for each position. The data points show a general upward trend in mean minutes played over the seasons. All values are approximated.Mean minutes played per season by position. Note: The figure reports the average number of minutes played per season by position (goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, forwards), computed among the 50 most-utilized players in each year. Results are shown separately for Top 5 European leagues and All Leagues over the period 1975/76–2023/24. Source: Authors' elaboration based on Transfermarkt data