Which players have the most appearances in each position in the Premier League?
GK: David James (572)
Over the course of a 26-year career spanning ten clubs, David James made an astonishing 817 league appearances. 70 per cent of those came in the Premier League for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth.
RB: Kyle Walker (419)
One of only two active players in the lineup, Kyle Walker is currently lining out for Burnley after spells at Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City. He’s a six-time Premier League champion.
CB: Rio Ferdinand (504)
The legendary centre-back cemented his place as one of the greatest English defenders of all time at Manchester United after coming through at West Ham. The former Leeds star ended his glittering career with an ill-fated and short-lived spell at QPR.
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CB: Jamie Carragher (508)
In a world where One Club Men are vanishing from the game, Jamie Carragher managed to make all 508 of his Premier League appearances for Liverpool. Although the defender never won the title, he did win just about everything else, including the Champions League, UEFA Cup and FA Cup.
LB: Phil Neville (505)
The six-time Premier League winner made 263 appearances for Manchester United before joining Everton, where he spent the majority of the second half of his career in midfield. That could be a potential disqualifier here, but no left-back has played more games than him in the league.
RW: James Milner (645)
James Milner has been a footballer for so long that he is now playing alongside (and providing assists to) players who weren’t even born when he made his professional debut. After a successful career spent with Leeds, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool, the 39-year-old could break record the all-time appearances record with Brighton this season.
1 – This was also the first time in Premier League history a player provided an assist for a player who was born after they'd made their Premier League debut – Milner made his debut in November 2002 and had played 138 games by the time Kostoulas was born in May 2007. Unusual. https://t.co/as4QWxOPzX
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 26, 2025
CM: Frank Lampard (609)
Unloved at West Ham, where his career began, Frank Lampard found a home and huge success at Chelsea. He won three Premier League titles and the Champions League before joining Manchester City for a one-year stint in 2014.
CM: Gareth Barry (653)
The man with more Premier League appearances than anyone else, for now at least. Gareth Barry did not have the most successful career, winning the league and FA Cup with Manchester City, but he did possess a longevity like few others. He spent 12 years at Villa before playing for City, Everton and West Brom.
LW: Ryan Giggs (632)
The only player to play in each of the first 14 Premier League seasons, Ryan Giggs has made more appearances in the division for Manchester United than any other player. He also holds the record for most assists (162) in the league.
CF: Jermain Defoe (496)
It might be quicker to name the teams Jermain Defoe didn’t player for during a goal-laden career in the top flight. The diminutive striker was one of several talented youngsters to come through the West ham academy in the nineties, before going on to line out for Spurs, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Bournemouth.
Defoe is tenth in the list of all-time scorers in the league, having netted 162 goals for five different clubs, and also had spells for Toronto FC and Rangers.
CF: Emile Heskey (516)
Despite not having the most stellar record in front of goal, Emile Heskey has played more times than any other striker in the history of the Premier League. The former England international came through at Leicester City before representing Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa, scoring 110 goals.
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