James Milner's incredible career sees the 40-year-old tied atop the all-time Premier League appearances list with Gareth Barry, as his next PL match will see pass the former England international.
Milner came off the bench for Brighton at former club Aston Villa on Wednesday to come within one PL appearance of standing alone on the all-time list, and he's contributed to the Premier League in so many areas — Milner 10th on the all-time PL assists list just behind Mohamed Salah's 92.
MORE — Current Premier League table
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.
James Milner career records and stats: Where has Milner played?
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 653 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:
- Liverpool, 230 appearances
- Manchester City, 147 appearances
- Aston Villa, 100 appearances
- Newcastle United, 94 appearances
- Leeds United, 48 appearances
- Brighton, 34 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 can James Milner catch Gareth Barry?
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.
He's been in the 18 for 20 of Brighton's PL matches this season, missing six through injury. He's played in 15 games.
Here are Brighton's upcoming Premier League matches:
- Feb. 21 at Brentford
- March 1 vs Nottingham Forest
- March 4 vs Arsenal
He can tie Barry against both players' former club Aston Villa, and pass him soon after that.
Of course, given Milner's long career, there's a 1-in-4 chance he's playing a Premier League game against a former club.
Premier League all-time appearances leaders (as of February 11, 2026)
- Gareth Barry, 653
- James Milner, 653
- Ryan Giggs, 632
- Frank Lampard, 609
- David James, 572
- Gary Speed, 535
- Emile Heskey, 516
- Mark Schwarzer, 514
- Jamie Carragher, 508
- Rio Ferdinand, 504
- Steven Gerrard, 504
- Sol Campbell, 503
- Peter Crouch, 501
- Paul Scholes, 499
- Jermain Defoe, 496
- John Terry, 492
- Wayne Rooney, 491
- Ashley Young, 485
- Stewart Downing, 483
- Michael Carrick, 481
- Phil Neville, 478
- Sylvain Distin, 469
- John O'Shea, 465
- Aaron Hughes, 455
- Jordan Henderson, 453
- Jussi Jaaskelainen, 452
- Shay Given, 451
- Brad Friedel, 450
Who's next amongst active players? Burnley's Kyle Walker has 434 PL appearances, James Ward-Prowse has 409, and Raheem Sterling has 396.