James Milner’s incredible career sees the 40-year-old alone atop the all-time Premier League appearances list.
Milner came off the bench for Brighton at Brentford in late February, passing Barry to stand alone on the all-time list. Milner’s contributed to the Premier League in so many areas, including playmaking as he’s currently [10th on the all-time PL assists list](https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/kevin-de-bruyne-premier-league-all-time-assist-leaders) just behind Mohamed Salah’s 92.
**MORE —** [Current Premier League table](https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/premier-league-2025-26-table-teams-standings-for-the-new-season)
Milner’s numbers are outstanding as he’s won so much for so many teams. Some players don’t get 48 Premier League appearances in his career — Milner’s played 48 league matches against Chelsea alone.
Also remarkable? Milner’s only been sent off three times: one straight red against West Brom and the other two coming when he was shown two yellows versus Crystal Palace.
The Leeds United academy product broke into the senior team in 2002 when he was 56 days shy of his 17th birthday.
He’s now played 655 times for six Premier League clubs, scoring for all of them.
Milner has 56 Premier League goals and 90 assists in league play.
**James Milner Premier League appearances by club:**
1. Liverpool, 230 appearances
2. Manchester City, 147 appearances
3. Aston Villa, 100 appearances
4. Newcastle United, 94 appearances
5. Leeds United, 48 appearances
6. Brighton, 38 appearances
**James Milner’s trophy case**
* 3x Premier League winner (2 with Man City, 1 with Liverpool)
* 2x League Cup winner (1 with Man City, 1 with Liverpool)
* 2x FA Cup winner (1 with Man City, 1 with Liverpool)
* 1x UEFA Intertoto Cup winner (Newcastle United)
* 2x Community Shield winner (1 with Man City, 1 with Liverpool)
* 1x Club World Cup winner (Liverpool)
* 1x UEFA Super Cup winner (Liverpool)
Premier League all-time appearances leaders: When did James Milner catch Gareth Barry?
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Brighton’s James Milner played his 653rd Premier League match in Week 26 of the 2025-26 season, appearing in the first half of the Seagulls’ match at Villa to tie Barry.
Premier League all-time appearances leaders (as of March 21, 2026)
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1. **James Milner, 657**
2. Gareth Barry, 653
3. Ryan Giggs, 632
4. Frank Lampard, 609
5. David James, 572
6. Gary Speed, 535
7. Emile Heskey, 516
8. Mark Schwarzer, 514
9. Jamie Carragher, 508
10. Rio Ferdinand, 504
11. Steven Gerrard, 504
12. Sol Campbell, 503
13. Peter Crouch, 501
14. Paul Scholes, 499
15. Jermain Defoe, 496
16. John Terry, 492
17. Wayne Rooney, 491
18. Ashley Young, 485
19. Stewart Downing, 483
20. Michael Carrick, 481
21. Phil Neville, 478
22. Sylvain Distin, 469
23. John O’Shea, 465
24. **Jordan Henderson, 459**
25. Aaron Hughes, 455
26. Jussi Jaaskelainen, 452
27. Shay Given, 451
28. Brad Friedel, 450
**Who’s next amongst active players?** Burnley’s Kyle Walker has 439 PL appearances and James Ward-Prowse has 415.