List of Premier League players
These are lists of Premier League players who have made the most appearances in the Premier League, the top level of the English football league system.
Since the Premier League's formation at the start of the 1992–93 season, 13 players have accrued 500 or more appearances in the Premier League. The first player to reach the milestone was midfielder Gary Speed, in representation of Leeds United, Everton, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers; his 500th match was Bolton's 4–0 win over West Ham United on 9 December 2006.[1] Speed held the record for most appearances until 14 February 2009, when goalkeeper David James played his 536th match, for Portsmouth against his former team Manchester City.[2] James ended with 572 appearances, a record which was broken by Ryan Giggs on 14 May 2011, having played all of his matches for Manchester United.[3] On 25 September 2017, Gareth Barry broke Giggs' record by playing his 633rd match, West Bromwich Albion's 2–0 loss at Arsenal.[4] At the time of breaking the record, Barry ranked 8th in English top division appearances since the Second World War, trailing Giggs in 6th (672 total top division appearances) and six other players.[5][6]
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher (both Liverpool) are the only three players to have achieved the accolade of 500+ Premier League appearances exclusively for one club. James Milner, Emile Heskey and David James each played for five Premier League clubs (the most for this achievement) on their way to 500+ Premier League games. The only player from outside the United Kingdom to play 500 Premier League games is Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, for Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea and Leicester City.[7]
List of players
Players are initially listed by number of appearances. If number of appearances are equal, the players are then listed chronologically by the year of first appearance. If still tied, the players are listed alphabetically. Current Premier League players and their current clubs are shown in bold.
Statistics are updated as of matches played on 3 February 2021.[8]
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Most appearances by club
Current Premier League clubs and players are shown in bold, defunct clubs are in italics.
References
- "Bolton 4-0 West Ham". BBC Sport. 9 December 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- "David James". The FA. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- Smith, Ben (16 November 2012). "Rejuvenated David James sets his sights on a new landmark". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- "Gareth Barry breaks Ryan Giggs' Premier League appearance record". Sky Sports. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- "Live MNF: Arsenal v West Brom". Monday Night Football. 25 September 2017. 7 minutes in. Sky. Sky Sports Main Event HD.
- Includes games played in the Football League First Division between 1946 and 1992 and subsequently all games played in the Premier League.
- "Schwarzer first overseas player to join 500 club". Premier League. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- "Premier League player appearances". Premier League. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- "Premier League » All-time appearances". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
