James Milner has now equalled the all-time Premier League appearance record set by Gareth Barry in 2018, with 230 of those 653 games coming in a Liverpool shirt.
Milner came off the bench to replace Carlos Baleba early into Brighton‘s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Wednesday night – and in doing so made Premier League history.
The 40-year-old is now level with former Villa and Man City midfielder Barry for the most appearances in the competition’s history.
It means he is one game away from breaking the record and cementing his legacy as one of the standout players of the Premier League era.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - Sunday, August 31, 2008: Liverpool's Javier Mascherano and Aston Villa's Gareth Barry during the Premiership match at Villa Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Barry’s 653rd and last Premier League appearance came in West Brom‘s 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield in February 2018, a game that saw him suffer a knee injury which marked the end of his top-flight career.
The midfielder had previously broken Ryan Giggs’ record of 632 appearances in 2017, with Frank Lampard falling short when he left the Premier League after 609 games.
Milner is into his third season with Brighton and his 24th consecutive campaign in the Premier League, having never played outside the top flight since his debut for Leeds as a 16-year-old in 2002.
James Milner: Premier League Appearances by Club
Club Years PL Apps
Liverpool 2015–2023 230
Man City 2010–2015 147
Aston Villa 2005–06, 2008–10 100
Newcastle 2004–2008 94
Leeds 2002–2004 48
Brighton* 2023–Present 34
TOTAL 2002–Present 653
It was at Liverpool where Milner found his most settled home, which brought a majority 230 league appearances over eight seasons at Anfield.
Speaking in a recent ‘Reds Roundtable’ episode, current head coach Arne Slot reflected on the impact both Milner and former captain Jordan Henderson still have behind the scenes at the AXA Training Centre.
“If I think about Liverpool, their most successful period in the last five to 10 years, then I think about Bobby Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, because they’ve scored goal after goal after goal,” Slot said.
“But if I’m in the building and I’m talking about that period of time, I hear two other names constantly, and that’s James Milner and Jordan Henderson.
“That’s also things you’re looking at that you have the right mentality, people who know what the culture is.”
While Milner is now likely to set a new Premier League appearance record when Brighton visit Brentford on February 21, he remains far behind in terms of minutes played.
Most Minutes Played: Premier League History
Player Pos PL Clubs Minutes
Gareth Barry MID 4 54,443
David James GK 5 51,302
Frank Lampard MID 3 48,913
Ryan Giggs MID 1 46,450
Gary Speed MID 4 46,316
Mark Schwarzer GK 4 46,184
Rio Ferdinand DEF 4 43,873
Sol Campbell DEF 4 43,339
Jamie Carragher DEF 1 43,327
John Terry DEF 1 41,972
Steven Gerrard MID 1 41,174
Sylvain Distin DEF 5 40,623
James Milner MID 6 40,489
Note: Data accurate as of February 2026. Club count refers exclusively to teams represented in the Premier League. James Milner is the only player in the top 13 who remains active in the competition.
A total of 12 players have clocked more minutes in the current English top flight, with Barry top on 54,443, while Milner is 11th when it comes to outfielders.
His current tally is 40,489 minutes and his next target could be eclipsing the record of Everton stalwart Sylvain Distin (40,623).