Coming in second is the Spanish La Liga. El Classico giants Real Madrid (15) and Barcelona (14) are sending 29 players between them.
Amazingly, despite Italy’s failure to qualify for their first world cup finals in 60 years, Serie A is still proving bountiful ahead of the World Cup. The Italian league is sending close to the same amount as the Bundesliga, and its champions Juventus mirror the league's cosmopolitan flavour by sending 10 seasoned internationals to Russia.
Only Manchester City (16), Real Madrid (15), Barcelona (13), Tottenham (12) and PSG (11) have sent more players to the World Cup than the Old Lady.
While the blue half of Manchester can claim bragging rights, the Red Devils match them for English talent with four a piece – so the honours are evenly shared if the Lions go all the way.
Over on Merseyside, it’s Liverpool who trumps Everton with 7 internationals to 3. While Sadio Mane and Idrissa Gana Gueye will be putting their rivalry aside for Senegal, you can expect things to heat up with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dejan Lovern when they meet in their group stage match between Iceland and Croatia.
In North London, there has been something of a power shift in recent seasons, Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs have overtaken Arsenal and Chelsea in the league standings. They are one of Europe’s most exciting prospects, and their squad reflects that – Spurs are sending 12 players to the World Cup, just shading Chelsea’s 11 and Arsenal’s 7.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Premier League’s relegated teams have made a considerable contribution to the World Cup. Despite their form, Stoke (5), Swansea (4) and West Brom (4) have sent a combined 13 players to the World Cup.
Over in La Liga, the relegated Deportivo de La Coruña (5) is the 5th biggest talent provider behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.