The dirtiest players in the big five European leagues, 2022-23

Nestor Watach • 10 May 2023

Only one player in Europe’s major leagues has committed more fouls this season than Barcelona starlet Gavi, while Newcastle United’s Joelinton, Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and Brighton’s Moises Caicedo are among the dirtiest players in the Premier League.

La Masia graduate Gavi, 18, has a reputation as one of the most tenacious and committed midfielders around – and that’s borne out by the stats. The Barcelona man has committed 71 fouls in La Liga this season, which puts him level at the top of the Spanish top flight’s foul charts alongside Rayo Vallecano’s Oscar Trejo.

We’ve delved through the statistics to put together the players that have committed the most fouls across the five biggest leagues in Europe – the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

Only Ajaccio’s Mounaim El Idrissy, with 78 fouls, has committed more than Gavi, while former Manchester United man Angel Gomes and ex-Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazatte also feature in Ligue 1’s top 10.

Newcastle’s Joelinton somewhat unsurprisingly tops the Premier League’s foul charts. The Brazilian has been an aggressive and physical presence for Eddie Howe’s high-flying Magpies. Combative midfielders like Moises Caicedo, Tomas Soucek and Rodri also feature in the English top tier’s top ten.

It’s also worth noting that Brentford striker Ivan Toney gives as good as he gets. He’s never afraid to shirk a physical battle with opposition centre-backs, evidenced by the stats – Toney has committed the fourth-most fouls in the Premier League, with 52, but he’s also been the fourth-most fouled player (behind Jordan Ayew, Wilfried Zaha and Jack Grealish), having suffered 74 illegal challenges this season.

Here’s how the list in full stacks up.

Premier League

1. Joelinton (Newcastle) – 56
2. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) – 55
3. Moises Caicedo (Brighton) – 55
4. Ivan Toney (Brentford) – 52
5. Jeffrey Schlupp (Crystal Palace) – 51
6. Tomas Soucek (West Ham) – 48
7. Lucas Paqueta (West Ham) – 47
8. Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) – 46
9. Rodri (Manchester City) – 46
10. Solly March (Brighton) – 46

La Liga

1. Oscar Trejo (Rayo Vallecano) – 71
2. Gavi (Barcelona) – 71
3. Oscar Valentin (Rayo Vallecano) – 30
4. Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) – 64
5. Vinicius Souza (Espanyol) – 64
6. Enes Unal (Getafe) – 59
7. Lucas Torro (Osasuna) – 59
8. Yeremy Pino (Villarreal) – 58
9. Brais Mendez (Real Sociedad) – 57
10. Lucas Boye (Elche) – 55

Players like Gavi will aggressively engage the ball carrier as quickly as possible once a transition has occurred.

The main aim is to regain possession immediately through tackles:pic.twitter.com/Tt2lUE1TDn

— Abe (@AbeBuma) January 21, 2023

Serie A

1. Morten Hjulman (Lecce) – 58
2. Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino) – 57
3. Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina) – 50
4. MBala Nzola (Spezia) – 49
5. Tomas Rincon (Spezia) – 49
6. Filippo Bandinelli (Empoli) – 48
7. Karol Linetty (Torino) – 48
8. Mehdi Leris (Sampdoria) – 48
9. Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta) – 47
10. Isak Hien (Verona) – 47

Bundesliga

1. Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim) – 61
2. Nicolas Hofler (Freiburg) – 59
3. Christian Gross (Werder Bremen) – 52
4. Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim) – 52
5. Rani Khedira (Union Berlin) – 49
6. Manu Kone (Borussia Monchengladbach) – 47
7. Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt) – 47
8. Ermedin Demirovic (Augsburg) – 45
9. Karim Onisiwo (Mainz) – 45
10. Leandro Barreiro (Mainz) – 45

Ligue 1

1. Mounaim El Idrissy (Ajaccio) – 78
2. Salis Abdul Samed (Lens) – 69
3. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) – 59
4. Batista Mendy (Angers) – 56
5. Marshall Munetsi (Reims) – 54
6. Grejohn Kyei (Clermont Foot) – 53
7. Teji Savanier (Montpellier) – 53
8. Benjamin Andre (Lille) – 51
9. Ludovic Blas (Nantes) – 51
10. Angel Gomes (Lille) – 50

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 20 players with the most red cards in Prem history?

Bundesliga La Liga Ligue 1 Premier League Serie A Quick Reads Barcelona Chelsea Newcastle United