Creatine supplementation in soccer players: a systematic review

Soccer places repeated demands on short-duration, high-intensity performance, including sprints, accelerations, jumps, and technical actions performed over the course of a match. Because these efforts depend heavily on rapid adenosine triphosphate (ATP) resynthesis, creatine is a plausible ergogenic aid for soccer players. However, findings in soccer-specific studies have been inconsistent, and previous reviews have addressed narrower questions using smaller evidence sets. This systematic review therefore examined the effects of creatine supplementation on performance, body composition, and recovery/fatigue-related outcomes in soccer players.

PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched from inception to 15 May 2025 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement. We included controlled clinical trials of creatine supplementation in male or female soccer players of any age or competitive level when an eligible placebo, control, or comparison condition was available. Outcomes were grouped into performance, body composition, and recovery/fatigue domains. Domains from the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials (RoB 2) and the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool were used to produce study-level methodological summaries rather than formal result-specific risk-of-bias assessments. Because the studies differed substantially in design, supplementation protocols, populations, and outcomes, findings were synthesised qualitatively rather than pooled in a meta-analysis.