The 2024/25 season will be the 33rd edition of the Premier League. Across more than three decades of action, some of the legends of the game have shone in the English top flight and many feature in the rundown of the players with the most Premier League appearances.
| Players with the most Premier League appearances | Clubs represented | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Gareth Barry |
Aston Villa, Man City, Everton, West Brom |
653 |
| James Milner |
Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Man City, Liverpool, Brighton |
634 |
| Ryan Giggs |
Man Utd |
632 |
| Frank Lampard |
West Ham, Chelsea, Man City |
609 |
| David James |
Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Man City, Portsmouth |
572 |
For many years, Ryan Giggs was the record holder. The Welsh wing wizard featured in every season between the inaugural Premier League in 1992/93 and his final campaign in 2013/14, finishing with 632 appearances, all of which came in a Man Utd shirt.
However, two players have since surpassed Giggs’ mark and it’s Gareth Barry who is the current record holder on 653 Premier League appearances.
Barry made his debut in the 1997/98 season with Aston Villa, starting off as a defender, before going on to become a Premier League title winning midfielder at Manchester City. Spells at Everton and back in the Midlands at West Brom followed, with Barry surpassing Giggs with his 633rd appearance in the English top flight in September 2017 for the Baggies against Arsenal.
Players with the most Premier League appearances – Imminent milestones
James Milner – Second in the all-time rankings
As far as longevity goes, James Milner may end up smashing all the records. He became the second youngest ever Premier League player in 2002, when he appeared for hometown club Leeds at the age of just 16 years and 309 days.
22 years on, Milner is still going strong and he’s just 19 appearances off matching Barry’s record. Now 38, the Brighton man will be hoping to feature enough to go clear of his former Aston Villa teammate at some point in the 2024/25 campaign.
Ashley Young – The top 20 beckons
Of players still active in the league, it’s Ashley Young who has the second highest number of appearances. The versatile Everton player has featured 453 times in the Premier League since his debut in the 2006/07 season which saw the Englishman swap Watford for Villa Park midway through the campaign.
He’s 22nd on the all-time Premier League appearance rankings heading into the 2024/25 season and needs to play 16 times for the Toffees to climb above Aaron Hughes and Peter Crouch, and into the top 20.
Kyle Walker – Five off 400
Only three of the top 50 Premier League appearance makers are still active and the third is Man City and England right-back Kyle Walker.
Now 34, Walker made his Premier League debut for Spurs in early 2010, having been recalled from a loan back to boyhood club Sheffield United. He has gone from strength to strength since joining Man City, winning six league titles. Walker needs just five more appearances to match fellow full-back Gary Neville’s total of 400 games in the English top flight.
Declan Rice – Closing in on 250 and a future record breaker?
In terms of players who could go on to one day hold this record, Arsenal’s Declan Rice is a very strong contender with the 25-year-old already just eight appearances off 250, a figure he should breeze past this season.
Rice made his Premier League debut for West Ham against Burnley on the final day of the 2016/17 season. He made 26 appearances as a teenager the following year and has been a Premier League regular ever since, making 32 or more appearances in each of the last six seasons.
