By starting Brighton & Hove Albion’s opening match of the season at home to Luton Town, James Milner has equalled a Premier League record.
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The 37-year-old, who joined Brighton from Liverpool on a free transfer this summer, has equalled Ryan Giggs’s record for playing in 22 Premier League seasons.
He moves past Gareth Barry (21 season) and is now two ahead of the next two players in the rankings, Rio Ferdinand (20) and Frank Lampard (20).
Coming through the Leeds United Academy, Milner made his Premier League debut on 10 November 2002, coming on as a substitute against West Ham United, at the age of 16. That made him the second-youngest player to play in the Premier League at the time.
Milner became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history when he scored in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Boxing Day that same year at the age of 16 years and 309 days.
The midfielder went on to play for Newcastle United (2004-2008), Aston Villa (2008-2010), Manchester City (2010-2015) and Liverpool (2015-2023).
Saturday's win over Luton was Milner’s 620th league appearance, having scored 55 goals and assisted a further 87.
He is only 12 matches short of equalling Giggs’s appearance total of 632, and 32 short of the record, set by Gareth Barry, with 652.
