James Tavernier and Nicolas Raskin have been named in a CIES Football Observatory study alongside global stars such as Kylian Mbappé, Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk.
The Rangers duo feature on the list due to their extraordinary workload and consistency, with the research highlighting players who have logged the most minutes for club and country.
Belgian midfielder Raskin has racked up 65 appearances over the past year, clocking 5,389 minutes up to December 12. The majority of that time — 58.5 per cent — has come in domestic competitions for Rangers, while 27.7 per cent has been in European matches. The remaining 13.8 per cent reflects his involvement with the Belgium national team.
Having recently re-established himself as a regular starter, Raskin has played a key role in Danny Rohl’s side as they close to within three points of Premiership leaders Celtic.
Captain James Tavernier, meanwhile, appears across three separate CIES datasets measuring long-term physical durability. Over the past three years, the right-back has featured in 169 matches, totalling 14,393 minutes, with just under 22 per cent of his game time coming in European competition.
His four-year figures are even more striking, with 229 appearances and 19,837 minutes played, split between 75.5 per cent domestic action and 24.5 per cent in Europe. Across five years, Tavernier has amassed 273 matches and 23,650 minutes, maintaining a similar balance between domestic and continental football.
Both players will be central to Rangers’ plans this weekend as they travel to Tynecastle to face league leaders Hearts on Sunday afternoon.
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