Jules Kounde has had an incredible year for club and country and has barely missed a minute for either Barcelona or France.

A new study by the CIES Sports Observatory has revealed he’s played more than anyone else in the biggest leagues in the world in 2024.

Kounde has actually played an eye-watering 5,872 minutes in total and has featured in 69 matches in total.

The Barcelona defender also still has one more game to play. He’s due to feature for Barcelona against Atletico on Saturday which will be appearance No. 70.

Kounde tops the charts ahead of Fluminense’s Jhon Arias (on a mere 5,599 minutes) and Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde who has mustered just 5,573 minutes.

It’s an extraordinary set of stats and made even more interesting when you realise that Kounde has admitted he goes in for extra training sessions.

Raheem Sterling has no intention of prematurely concluding his season-long loan spell at Arsenal, according to a report.

The former Liverpool and Manchester City forward was frozen out at Stamford Bridge by Enzo Maresca at the start of the season. Surprisingly left out of Chelsea’s squad for the first Premier League fixture of the campaign, Sterling sealed a west London exit on deadline day.

There was plenty of optimism about the deal at the time. Arsenal are reportedly paying less than half of Sterling’s £325,000 weekly wage – with Chelsea covering the remainder – and Mikel Arteta was excited to be reunited with a player he worked alongside at Manchester City.

However, Premier League starts have been hard to come by for Sterling and appearances of any length have stopped in recent weeks. The four-time top-flight champion has watched on as an unused substitute in Arsenal’s previous four matches across all competitions.

Sterling’s last league start for the Gunners was cut short in the 37th minute when Arteta was forced into a tactical reshuffle following William Saliba’s red card against Bournemouth in October. It was telling that the experienced winger was the player to be sacrificed.

Despite his minimal involvement, Sterling remains committed to Arsenal, according to the Evening Standard. The forward reportedly remains “determined” to win his place in the starting XI and is still considered a viable option for Arteta.

When Pep Guardiola’s former number two was asked if Sterling had been left on the sidelines for a specific reason this week, Arteta bluntly replied: “No.”

Arsenal’s boss has previously explained that Sterling’s lack of minutes has weighed heavily on him. “I would like him to play much more as I think he can impact the team in a very good way,” Arteta outlined earlier this month. “He’s very good in the dressing room and is absolutely desperate to play.”

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Barcelona have reportedly been handed a boost after fresh tests on Lamine Yamal’s ankle injury suffered against Leganes.

There have been concerns raised that the injury may be more severe than first thought, but Barcelona are optimistic that it is just a simple sprain.

Diario AS are reporting that tests revealed that the injury has not affected the external lateral ligament of the ankle and Yamal “only has a part of the membrane that covers the fibula and tibia affected.”

The upshot is that this makes “rehabilitation work and the time off much easier” and Yamal will hopefully return as originally scheduled.

Barca said in an initial statement that he would miss the next “3-4 weeks” and there is now “high optimism” he will be fit to face Athletic Cup in the Spanish Super Cup.

Yamal has also sounded positive about his latest injury setback and told fans he will be “back soon” after picking up the Golden Boy award.

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