Salah and Mane reach Champions League final at risk of muscle overload

Having made their season debut 10 months ago, Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are heading into the Champions League having played 17 games more than Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and 10 more than Los Blancos forward Vinicius Junior.

Meanwhile, the Brazil international is the Real Madrid outfielder who has played the most games so far this season.

Marcelo described Saturday's final as the best game in the world at club level. Several teams compete to reach the Champions League decider, but at the end only two of them have managed to do so.

As a report published by FIFPro demonstrates, players are being pushed to their limits in their bid to achieve their objectives.

FIFPro offers some data for players such as Eder Militao, Benzema, Vinicius, Mane, Salah and Virgil van Dijk, all of whom have reached the final in Paris.

Liverpool's season kicked off on July 20

Jurgen Klopp's men played their first match of the campaign on July 20, although the Dutch centre-back did so nine days later. Real Madrid's players, on the other hand, started on August 8, although Benzema did not make his debut until the 14th of that month.

Mane and Salah have 69 appearances each, with Van Dijk having registered 61. Benzema has played 52 games, Vinicius 59 and Militao 56.

Meanwhile, Mane and Salah have recorded a total of 14 appearances each for their national teams, compared to a maximum of eight games played by their Real Madrid counterparts.

Impact of games at national team level

The Egypt international comes into the match with 5,968 minutes under his belt, compared to Benzema's 4,591 and Vinicius' 5,011, while Mane has played 5,809 minutes of football.

National teams are once again taking their toll on the Liverpool players, with Salah's 1,468 minutes of playing time with Egypt standing out.

The Liverpool forward has played a match every 4.46 days, compared to Benzema's 5.09. Meanwhile, Vinicius and Militao have travelled around 128.000km each, mostly to participate in games of the Brazilian national team.