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. 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. 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. On 25 September 2017, Gareth Barry broke Giggs' record by playing his 633rd match, West Bromwich Albion's 2–0 loss at Arsenal. Barry is the youngest of the 13 players to have achieved the feat.
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 played for six clubs, which is the most of anyone in the "500 Club". Emile Heskey and David James each played for five Premier League clubs on their way to over 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.
Of the still active players in the Premier League, Jordan Henderson is closest to joining the "500 Club". The Chelsea midfielder has 463 Premier League appearances as of 24 May 2026 (71 for Sunderland, 360 for Liverpool and 31 for Brentford).
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. Current Premier League players and their current clubs are shown in bold.
Statistics were updated .
+ Premier League players with at least 500 appearancesRankPlayerClub(s)1MF65820022026, , , , , 2MF65319982018, , , 3MF632199220144MF60919962015, , 5GK57219922010, , , , 6MF53519922007, , , 7FW51619952012, , , , 8GK51419972015, , , 9DF5081997201310DF50519952013, 11DF50419962015, , , MF1998201513DF50319922011, , ,
Most appearances by club
Current Premier League clubs and players who hold the record for the club are shown in bold, defunct clubs are in italics.
Rank ClubPlayer 1Manchester United632199220142Liverpool508199720133Chelsea492199820174West Ham United414200520225Bolton Wanderers379200120116Everton374200920267Aston Villa365199820098Tottenham Hotspur361201220239Newcastle United3541997200910Southampton3432012202311Leicester City3422014202512Arsenal3331992200413Middlesbrough3321997200814Leeds United3251993200415Stoke City3172008201816Manchester City3092010202017Crystal Palace3062013202518Brighton & Hove Albion3032017202619West Bromwich Albion2692008201820Sheffield Wednesday2641993200021Blackburn Rovers2612001200822Bournemouth2602015202623Wimbledon2441992200024Fulham21720082014Burnley2014202226Swansea City1982011201827Wigan Athletic1942006201328Coventry City19129Sunderland1892011201730Charlton Athletic18731Wolverhampton Wanderers1772018202332Nottingham Forest1741992199933Derby County1701996200234Brentford1662021202635Watford1652015202136Birmingham City1502002200937Portsmouth1442003200838Queens Park Rangers1421992199639Norwich City1252011201640Ipswich Town1121992199541Hull City1092013201742Sheffield United972019202443Reading902006201344Oldham Athletic811992199445Huddersfield Town742017201946Bradford City711999200147Cardiff City5120132019
See also List of footballers in England by number of league appearances (500+) List of footballers with 100 or more Premier League goals
References