James Milner and the players with the most appearances in Premier League history as record broken

Martin Macdonald

• 23 Feb 2026 13:29 GMT
• 6 min read

Features

One of the most prestigious records in Premier League history was surpassed this weekend

Prior to this round of Premier League fixtures, former Manchester City and Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry held the outright record for the most Premier League appearances with 653.

But, he now been overtaken at the top of the leaderboard as James Milner is now on 654 following his appearance for Brighton in the 2-0 victory against Brentford on Saturday.

Milner has made 16 appearances for Brighton in the 2025/26 campaign with 13 of those coming as a substitute.

The veteran midfielder has enjoyed a stellar career, playing for some of England's biggest clubs - Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool and now Brighton.

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He has won the Premier League three times - twice with Man City, once with Liverpool - the Champions League with Liverpool, the FA Cup twice and the League Cup twice.

After beating Barry's record, he told reporters:

"It's the drive and hunger, you want to be the best every day, whether it's game or training.

"I'm surrounded by a lot of young lads. I want to contribute to their careers, push them and help them get to the highest level as quick as possible. That's what I'm here to do.

"I feel like I can still contribute minutes. I've been a bit frustrated this year, maybe not getting the minutes, but it's a fine balance because of course we have to develop players as well and we want to win.

"Hopefully, I've proved the last few games that I can still contribute on the pitch. I'm delighted to be part of it and the dressing room, it's full of incredible characters and very good players, and a good up-and-coming manager."

When you actually break down the minutes for the players who have made the most appearances, it is unlikely that anyone will catch Barry.

Even though both players are in the top two on the leaderboard for appearances, Milner has played significantly less Premier League minutes and made a lot less starts than Barry.

Barry played 54,439 minutes in the top-flight in his career, while Milner has recorded 40,565 minutes so far.

Ryan Giggs, Frank Lampard, David James and Gary Speed make up the top six for the most Premier League appearances.

Only one of James' 572 appearances came as a substitute.

From that top six, Giggs and Lampard are well out in front when it comes to goal contributions. The Manchester United legend scored 109 goals and recorded 162 assists, while the Chelsea icon scored 177 goals and recorded 102 assists.

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