Top 20 Most Appearances in the Premier League

The Premier League has been home to great players-past and present. Since its inception, 113 of the FIFA-member nations have had a player in the Premier League.

The Three Lions have the most representatives, as expected, while France have the most foreign players.

Only 13 players have accrued 500 appearances in the Premier League, with England players on top of the list. Over 40 players have more than 300 appearances playing for a single club. 

The top 20 players with the most Premier League appearances include 16 England stars, two French players and two players from Wales. 

On top of the list is Gareth Barry, who amassed a whopping 653 appearances in the Premier League. Barry made his Premier League debut in the 1997-1998 season and went on to play for 21 years before playing his last game in 2018. Barry represented four clubs during his time in the League. He started with Aston Villa, making 365 appearances for the Midlands club. 

After leaving Villa, Barry played 132 games for Manchester City and 131 matches for Everton before playing his final 25 games with West Brom. 

Next behind Barry is the most-decorated in the Premier League, Ryan Giggs. Giggs is one of the single-club players, playing all his games for Manchester United.

The former Wales star made 632 appearances for the Red Devils after making his debut in the 1992-1993 season and retiring in 2014. 

Everton manager Frank Lampard sits in third place with 604 appearances. Lampard made 429 games for Chelsea, although he started his career with West Ham, making 148 appearances for the Hammers.

He also had 32 appearances for Manchester City in the latter part of his career. 

In fourth place is James Milner, the only active player on the list. Milner has been playing in the League since 2002 and is currently with Liverpool. The former England star is just a game away from 200 matches for the Reds.

Before his time at Liverpool, Milner made 147 appearances for Manchester City, 100 for Aston Villa, 94 for Newcastle United and 48 matches for Leeds United. Milner also holds the record for most games played as a substitute with 176 games.

David James is up next with 572 appearances playing for five different clubs. He is one of the two goalkeepers in the top ten.

James played 214 matches for Liverpool, 134 for Portsmouth, 93 for Manchester City, 67 for Aston Villa and 64 for West Ham. 

The late Gary Speed has 535 Premier League appearances. Speed played from 1992 to 2007. The late Wales star made 213 for Newcastle, 143 for Leeds, 121 for Bolton Wanderers and 58 games for Everton.

Speed was one of the most lovable players in the Premier League. 

Emile Heskey is seventh on the list with 516 appearances for the club with 516 appearances. Heskey played for five clubs in his Premier League career. 

He made 150 appearances for Liverpool, 124 for Leicester City, 92 for Aston Villa, 82 for Wigan and 68 for Birmingham City. 

Mark Schwarzer is the only player outside of the UK in the top ten. Schwarzer made 514 appearances in the Premier League.

The Australian played 332 times for Middlesbrough, 172 times for Fulham, six times for Leicester City and four times for Chelsea. 

In ninth place is another one-club man Jamie Carragher. Carragher made 508 appearances for Liverpool between 1997 and 2013, winning numerous titles, including the Champions League and FA Cup. 

He retired from football in 2013.

Phil Neville, the brother of Gary Neville, rounds up the top ten with 505 appearances that came in the colours of Manchester United (263) and Everton (242).

He was part of the United team that dominated the 90s. 

Rio Ferdinand is up next with 504 appearances, with a bunch of them for Manchester United (312). Ferdinand also made 127 appearances for West Ham, 54 for Leeds United and 11 for Queens Park Rangers.

Ferdinand would have racked up more appearances if not for the eight-month ban he received for a positive drug test. 

Another member of the one one-man club is up next- Steven Gerrard. Gerrard made his debut for Liverpool in 1998 and went on to play 504 league games for the Reds.

He was a central figure for Liverpool during his career and arguably the club's greatest player of all time. 

Campbell amassed 503 appearances in the English top-flight. He played 255 times for Tottenham Hotspur before making a controversial move to Arsenal.

The ex-England international made 146 appearances for the Gunners and was part of their invincible team. After leaving Arsenal, Campbell made 95 appearances for Portsmouth and seven for Newcastle. 

Scholes is another one-club man. He began his career with Manchester United in 1994 and ended it in 2013, although he initially retired for a short time.

Scholes was part of the United team that won multiple Premier League titles and the treble-winning side of 1999. 

Defoe made a total of 496 appearances for five different clubs. Although he started his career at Charlton Athletic, he never played for The Addicks in the Premier League.

His 496 appearances came in the colours of West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Bournemouth. 

The next one-club man on the list is John Terry. Terry's 492 appearances came in the colours of Chelsea. The ex-Aston Villa man made his debut for the Blues in 1998 and went on to play until 2017. Although he joined Aston Villa after leaving Chelsea, he only played in their Championship campaign. 

Rooney amassed 491 appearances in the Premier League, playing for just two clubs. He made 393 appearances for Manchester United between 2004-2017 and 98 appearances in two separate spells for Everton. 

Like Rooney, Michael Carrick also made most of his 481 appearances with Manchester United.

He made 316 appearances for the Red Devils, but before then, he had made 101 appearances for West Ham and 64 for Tottenham Hotspur.

The fourth foreign player on the list is Sylvain Distin. Distin made 469 Premier League appearances, playing for just three clubs- Manchester City, Everton and Portsmouth.

He also had spells with Newcastle and Bournemouth, he never played for them in the League.

The final name on the list is Peter Crouch. Crouch played for clubs like Liverpool, Tottenham, Stoke City, Aston Villa and Burnley in his career.

He made his League debut in the 2001/2002 season and went on to amass 468 appearances before retiring in 2020. 

Gareth Barry (653) 

Ryan Giggs (632)

Frank Lampard (604) 

James Milner (588)

David James (572)

Gary Speed (535)

Emile Heskey (516)

Mark Schwarzer (514)

Jamie Carragher (508)

Phil Neville (505)

Rio Ferdinand (504)

Steven Gerrard (504)

Sol Campbell (503)

Paul Scholes (499)

Jermain Defoe (496) 

John Terry (492)

Wayne Rooney (491) 

Michael Carrick (481) 

Sylvain Distin (469) 

Peter Crouch (468)