James Milner sets record for 654 Premier League matches when Brighton beats the Bees

James Milner officially became the player with the most appearances in history Premier League after appearing for the 654th time in Brighton’s 2-0 win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, Saturday local time. This record was created when his name was included in the main line-up.

The 40 year old midfielder surpassed the record previously held by Gareth Barry. Milner actually matched this figure on February 11 when he came on as a substitute against Aston Villa. The match against The Bees was the moment when he stood alone at the top of the list of most appearances.

Brighton closing the match with a two-goal win without reply, as well as giving additional meaning to Milner’s personal record.

Long Journey Since 2002

Milner began his career in England’s top flight in 2002. He was 16 years old when he made his league debut with Leeds, coming on as a substitute in a 4-3 win over West Ham.

His career then took him to a number of big clubs. He is known as an important part of the successful era of Manchester City and Liverpool. With these two clubs, Milner collected various major titles, including three Premier League trophies, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the English League Cup.

Since joining Brighton in 2023, he has remained part of the main squad. This season alone he has made 18 appearances, a figure that shows that his contribution has not really stopped even though he is getting older.

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Still Want to Continue Playing

Milner admits that this season has not always gone smoothly in terms of minutes played. He felt frustrated because he didn’t have as many opportunities to appear as he expected. However, he understands the team’s need to provide room for development for other players while maintaining the winning target.

“I feel I can still contribute playing minutes. This season I was a little frustrated because maybe I didn’t get enough minutes, but it’s a matter of balance because we also have to develop players and want to win,” he said. He added that his performance in the last few matches was proof that he was still able to help the team on the field.

The previous record stood since 2018, when Gareth Barry played his last Premier League match for West Brom against Huddersfield. After that Barry played two seasons in the Championship before hanging up his boots.

Even though he has reached the age of 40, Milner has not yet determined the end of his career. He suffered an injury last season which prevented him from lifting his legs for six months. However, this condition did not make him set a deadline to stop.

“When you get older things can change quickly. With the injury last season I couldn’t even lift my legs for six months. I’ll keep pushing myself and we’ll see where that takes us,” said Milner.

With 654 appearances and counting, James Milner is now the new Premier League record holder, an achievement that confirms the length of his career and his consistency at the highest level of English football.