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

Martin Macdonald

• 12 Feb 2026 04:01 CST
• 5 min read

Analysis

One of the most prestigious records in Premier League history was matched this midweek.

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 has company at the top of the leaderboard as James Milner is now on 653 following his appearance for Brighton in a 1-0 loss versus Aston Villa on Wednesday. He came off the bench to replace the injured Carlos Baleba and played 68 minutes of action.

Milner has made 15 appearances for Brighton in the 2025/26 campaign with 13 of those coming as a substitute.

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It is likely that Milner will claim the outright record in this campaign as he needs just one more appearance to do so.

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.

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.

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 now on 653 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 40,476 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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