What does a Premier League footballer typically eat in a day?

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·30 December 2022

What does a Premier League footballer typically eat in a day?

Professional football players have very different diets compared to fans and we can reveal a typical diet for footballers.

Premier League stars have quite a strict and hard lifestyle despite the huge amounts of money that they receive on a weekly basis.

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They have to train most of the week, try and stay off smoking and alcohol and stick to a strict diet to make sure they maintain the fitness and physicality of a world-class athlete.

The diet of a footballer over the course of a typical day is very interesting, and some may be surprised by the amount they eat.

What is a typical daily diet for a Premier League footballer?

Of course, the diet won’t be the exact same for every footballer in the Premier League; however, we can somewhat see the generic diet style pattern thanks to some research and also a video on Premier League diets by Crystal Palace.

Footballers will have their three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and these meals have to consist of specific foods. Soccer Supplements has broken down the food that is in a Premier League players diet; protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin and minerals, hydration and supplements.

Players will try to have a very balanced diet and one with lots of fruit and vegetables. Alongside this, they need lots of whole grains like pasta and brown rice. Players will of course have three meals a day, and these meals are packed with all we have mentioned.

Training grounds and academies both have separate nutritionists and they have regular meetings to plan what to give to players.

Sample meals that Premier League footballers eat

Premier Football revealed a typical meal plan for footballers and it includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. Have a look at it in full down below:

BREAKFAST

A Fruit Piece
Porridge or a Bowl of Oatmeal (Sweetened with Honey or Dried Fruit)
Four Slices of Wholemeal Bread with Jam or Spread of Olive Oil
Fresh Juice (Fruit)
Yoghurt
Two-three Cookies

LUNCH

Grilled Chicken or Tuna
Bagels, baguettes, and other similar breeds
Salad with a sauce of olive oil and lemon juice
Low Fat Milk or Fresh Juice
Bran Muffin or Low Fat
Bananas
A packet of mixed nuts and raisins

DINNER

Serving of Pasta or Rice
Tomato Sauce
Lean Beef Mince, Chicken, or Grilled Fish
Vegetables
Ice Cream and Strawberries

What else do footballers consume apart from meals?

In the Crystal Palace video, they revealed a weekly plan that players need to have alongside their meals. Here is the plan in detail:

Day off after matchday: Nutritional supplements (protein shakes and cherry actives)
Monday: Supplements, Omega 3, protein shakes
Tuesday/Wednesday: More carbohydrates, protein
Thursday/Friday: Lots of carbohydrates alongside their meals
Matchday: Rich carbohydrate meal (three hours before kick-off). No red meat, mainly have chicken and salmon. Treat meal (post-match), e.g burger and chips.

As you can see, footballers have a very strict diet and if they don’t listen to the nutritional staff, they won’t play as well as they could.

How many calories does a Premier League footballer have in a day?

It is crazy to think how much Premier League stars consume on a daily basis. When you look at the average footballer in the top division, they have a calorie intake of 3789 kcal on matchday and 2956 kcal on training days.