Atleti and Sevilla stars shine in the Gulf

By David Owen

December 13 - Atlético Madrid and Sevilla may have disappointed this season in the Champions League, but their players are doing business at Qatar 2022.

Of the four remaining World Cup sides, German giants Bayern Munich have the biggest contingent with six, including France's Dayot Upamecano and Croatia's Josip Stanisić. But the two Spanish clubs are next on the list with five each, including some of the best players in the current tournament such as Antoine Griezmann, still in charge of the world champions, and Bono, the excellent Moroccan goalkeeper.

Real Madrid and Dinamo Zagreb complete the top five clubs with players still active at the World Cup, with four each. The best club in the Premier League, perhaps surprisingly, is North London side Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have three survivors, as well as Paris Saint-Germain - employers of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé - Juventus and Wydad Casablanca.

In terms of leagues, Western Europe's wealthy competitions are far ahead of anywhere else, providing no less than 75% of the remaining players.

Spanish La Liga leads with 23 survivors. The Italian Serie A, the French Ligue 1 and the Premier League participate with 14 players each, while the Bundesliga has one less with 13.

The football shown in Qatar has for the most part appeared much slower and more deliberate than the fare typically served up in the Premier League, the world's richest domestic club football competition. This might help explain why the most influential artists in the Gulf are not necessarily the ones one might have anticipated.

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