Premier League all-time appearances leaders: When can James Milner catch Gareth Barry?

James Milner's incredible career sees the 40-year-old — as of January 4 — closing in on the all-time Premier League appearances record held by Gareth Barry.

Milner needs four more appearances to tie Barry and five to stand alone on the all-time list, and he's contributed in so many areas — Milner’s tied for ninth on the all-time PL assists list with Mohamed Salah (90).

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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 649 times for six Premier League clubs, scoring for all of them.

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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, 30 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 649th Premier League match in Week 20 of the 2025-26 season, going 10 minutes in a 2-0 win over Burnley.

He's been in the 18 for 14 of Brighton's PL matches this season, missing six through injury. He's played in 11.

Here are Brighton's upcoming Premier League matches:

• Jan. 7 at Man City

• Jan. 19 vs Bournemouth

• Jan. 24 at Fulham

• Jan. 31 vs Everton

• Feb. 8 vs Crystal Palace

• Feb. 11 at Aston Villa

If he plays in every game, he'll tie Barry against Barry's longtime club Everton.

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There's also the romantic option that would see him break the record at his and Barry's former club Aston Villa on February 11.

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 January 4, 2026)

1. Gareth Barry, 653

2. James Milner, 649

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. Aaron Hughes, 455

25. Jussi Jaaskelainen, 452

26. Shay Given, 451

27. Jordan Henderson, 450

28. Brad Friedel, 450

Who's next amongst active players? Burnley's Kyle Walker has 428 PL appearances, James Ward-Prowse has 409, and Raheem Sterling has 396.