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AC Milan give internationals most playing time in Europe, study says

AC Milan give 99.4 percent of all minutes in Serie A to full internationals, the most of any team in Europe's biggest leagues, according to a study by the CIES Football Observatory.

The study looked at how much league playing time in Italy, England, Spain, France and Germany was performed by players who have already been capped by their national teams.

Milan's number was the highest amongst top-flight clubs, just edging Chelsea at 98.2 percent and Borussia Dortmund at 98.1 percent. Thirteen clubs topped 90 percent.

The use of well-known internationals has provided only limited success this year for AC Milan, who at eighth place in Serie A appear unlikely to qualify for a European place next season. Dortmund have also struggled in the Bundesliga.

In contrast, only two clubs gave fewer than 10 percent of their minutes to uncapped players. Both Eibar in Spain and Paderborn in Germany are currently spending the first seasons in the top flight in their history.

Overall, international players with caps played 55.1 percent of domestic league minutes, with the Premier League reserving the most minutes for capped players at 75.8 percent.

At just 16.2 percent, Burnley are the only Premier League club where full internationals played fewer than half the team's minutes.

Percentage of minutes by full internationals, per team:
AC Milan: 99.4%
Chelsea: 98.2%
Borussia Dortmund: 98.1%
Bayern Munich: 96.2%
Juventus: 95.8%
Real Madrid: 95.5%
Paris Saint-Germain: 95.3%
Roma: 95.1%
Manchester City: 93.8%
Barcelona: 93.6%
Everton: 92.3%
Liverpool: 91.1%
Manchester United: 90.1%

Full data of top 5 European leagues at CIES

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