‘An amazing thing’

James Milner going past Ryan Giggs on the all-time Premier League appearance list is an “amazing thing”, says TNT Sports’ Peter Crouch, as the Brighton utility man revealed his desire to keep going in the English top flight.

That was the 633rd top-flight game of his career, moving him above Manchester United icon Giggs.

His sights are now set on catching former Aston Villa team-mate Gareth Barry, who hung up his boots in 2020 with a further 20 Premier League games to his name.

But that record might not stand for much longer, as Milner says there’s still life left in his 38-year-old legs.

“We’ll see,” said the former England international when speaking to TNT Sports about chasing down Barry’s record.

“It’s the game that’s the biggest thing tonight. We wanted to win and that’s disappointing. Game-wise, hopefully I’ve got a few more in me.”

Milner started his career with Leeds United and made his top flight debut in a 4-3 win at West Ham on November 10th 2002.

Six weeks later, he became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history when netting in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Boxing Day, aged just 16 years, 356 days old.

That record was subsequently broken by Everton striker James Vaughan in 2005, but Milner continued to make headlines in a career that has seen him win league titles at Manchester City and Liverpool, while also playing for Aston Villa and Newcastle.

In total, he has racked up 879 league and cup appearances at club level, alongside 61 caps for England, and he put his longevity down to over two decades of dedication.

“I think a bit of luck, working hard and taking advantage of everything that you get, your opportunities and how well you get looked after,” he said.

“You have to enjoy it and want to do it, and put the work in every day. I’ve been very fortunate to play for some amazing football clubs.

“This group of lads I’m playing for now, at a fantastic club, I’m enjoying my football and that’s the biggest thing, to have the want to do it every day.”

The Premier League formed in 1992, a decade before Milner made his professional debut.

Despite that, he has competed against close to 50% of the 4,776 players to have featured in the division.

Having just celebrated his birthday, he’s also become the first player to feature in the Premier League at every age from 16 to 38.

With only 17 games left this season, he can’t quite surpass Barry’s record before the end of the campaign, but TNT Sports’ Peter Crouch has no doubt he’ll get there next season.

“I think he’ll want to get another season in,” said the former striker, who played alongside Milner at international level. “Gareth and James are quite good mates, and I think Gareth will be sitting at home and he’ll be gutted to lose that!

“It’s no mean feat to get 600 appearances in the Premier League.

“I remember watching Ryan Giggs as a 17-year old. The amount of games he played! It’s an incredible achievement to go beyond that.

“He [Milner] won’t say anything about it now because he’s disappointed probably with the performance tonight, but when he looks back and he tells his kids and his grandkids that he’s the record appearance holder in the Premier League, it’s an amazing thing.”

1. Gareth Barry – 653
2. James Milner – 633
3. Ryan Giggs – 632
4. Frank Lampard – 609
5. David James – 572

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