James Milner has moved into joint-second in the Premier League's all-time appearance charts after playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in their goalless draw at West Ham United on Tuesday night.
The versatile midfielder, who turns 38 on Thursday, joined the Seagulls last summer on a free transfer from Liverpool and he has since featured regularly under Roberto De Zerbi this season, making 18 appearances across all competitions.
Thirteen of those outings have come in the Premier League this term, with Milner handed his ninth top-flight start for Brighton in the midweek stalemate at the London Stadium.
Milner's has now made a total of 632 Premier League appearances since and including his debut as a 16-year-old with former club Leeds United against West Ham on November 10, 2002 – becoming the second-youngest player to play in the division at the time.
After coming through at Leeds and representing his boyhood club, Milner went on to play for Newcastle United (2004-2008), Aston Villa (2008-2010), Manchester City (2010-2015) and Liverpool (2015-2023), and he is still going strong this term at Brighton.
The Englishman sits level with Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, who also made 632 Premier League appearances across his 24-year professional career with the Red Devils between 1990 and 2014.
The joint-second most appearances in Premier League history 👏@JamesMilner is among esteemed company! pic.twitter.com/FTA1IR5wko
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 2, 2024
Milner is only 21 appearances short of the all-time record held by his former Aston Villa, Man City and England teammate Gareth Barry, who sits pretty at the top of the charts with 653.
Brighton's No.6 is unable to equal or surpass Barry's record this season, though, as the Seagulls only have 18 league matches remaining in the 2023-24 campaign.
Milner's contract at Brighton is due to expire at the end of the season, but the Seagulls are understood to possess the option to trigger a one-year extension.
De Zerbi was full of praise for Milner after Tuesday's draw at West Ham, telling BBC Sport: "He's a great use for us. We're proud to have him in our team.
"He's improving because in his physical condition he can play 90 minutes with the same intensity and energy. We need him to reach our target, to fight to reach the higher position of the table."
Milner, who has scored 55 goals and provided 89 assists across his 632 Premier League appearances, is in contention to feature in Brighton's next fixture away against Stoke City in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
