It's been 26 years since the Leeds United academy prospect made his Premier League debut.
Leeds United academy graduate James Milner will finally become the Premier League’s all-time appearance record holder this afternoon.
Milner drew level with Gareth Barry on 653 Premier League games when coming off the bench during Brighton’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa earlier this month. And having been named in the Seagulls starting-XI at Brentford this afternoon, the 40-year-old will finally pull ahead on 654 appearances.
That record-breaking appearance comes an incredible 24 years after Milner’s Premier League debut, which came off the bench for Leeds as a 16-year-old. The Thorp Arch academy graduate then went on to play top-flight football for Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool - winning Premier League and Champions League honours between the latter pair.
Milner joined Brighton as a free agent in 2023 and has so far played 34 Premier League games for the Seagulls, this afternoon’s meeting with Brentford being his 35th. Across 26 years in the top-flight, the winger-turned-midfielder has registered 56 goals and 87 assists.
"James Milner showed a really good performance against [Aston] Villa when he came on the pitch,” Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said of the decision to hand out a record-breaking appearance. “He has a lot of experience. He is a role model for everyone on the pitch. He can communicate with everyone on the pitch and I think it's very important for today.
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"I think it's difficult to sum him up with one word or a sentence. He's a role model on the pitch and beside the pitch. There's no surprise why he's there where he is at the moment because he has such a great discipline.
“He has such a great effort every day and he is never satisfied. He keeps going and it's a great opportunity for him. It's a great day for him to show us again why he is the record-holder regarding the Premier League games. Therefore, we are all looking forward to seeing him playing today."
Milner will have plenty of opportunity to further increase his appearance count between now and May, including at the home of his boyhood club. Leeds welcome Brighton to Elland Road on May 17 for their penultimate fixture of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
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